Hokkaido Premium Kombu 北海道特級真昆布

$21.99

北海道産、山出し昆布

Seaweed is recognized as a healthy food ingredient, low in calories, and rich in mineral content. Kombu kelp in particular, possesses a flavor and nutritional value unlike any other seaweed, earning it the title – "the king of seaweeds."

Unlike other seaweed varieties, kombu can be used to make dashi. Dashi is a soup stock that tastes of umami, famously known as the fifth taste. It is the foundation of the delicate flavor of Japanese cuisine. No other seaweed can be used to make dashi. The characteristics of kombu are an indispensable element of Japanese cuisine.

Apart from being used to make dashi, kombu can be eaten as a culinary ingredient just like other types of seaweed. It has a very distinctive texture. Depending on how it is cooked, kombu can either be firm and almost crunchy, or soft and pliable. Another feature of kombu is that it extracts the inherent delicious flavors of the other ingredients with which it is being cooked.

日本最知名的昆布產地在北海道，而北海道昆布又可依地域與美味程度，分屬三大頂級產區：真昆布、利尻昆布、羅臼昆布。其中，僅在北海道函館附近濱海地區採收的真昆布，被喻為「昆布中的昆布」。真昆布的特色在於肉質比較肥厚、風味高雅、鮮味豐富。使用這種優質昆布所萃取出的高湯，色澤清澄透亮，一飲入口，可以感受到細緻恬雅的深邃甘甜，以及豐醇圓潤、日本人稱為「旨味」的海洋般鮮味，雋永精醇滋味絕非一般日式湯頭可比擬。

現代人飲食常攝取過多肉類及加工食品，容易偏向酸性體質，為了平衡身體的酸鹼值，也要多攝取鹼性食物，而鹼性食品中，昆布佔有一席之地。昆布含有水溶性食物纖維，黏液成分含有「褐藻素」及「海藻酸」，這些成分可幫助鹽分排出體外，也因此，昆布不僅美味而且營養健康。

昆布的碘含量是食物中最高的，而且昆布熱量低、礦物質豐富。礦物質是構成骨骼的要素，也是讓肌肉維持正常運作或維持身體機能不可缺少的成分。跟其他食品相較，昆布內所含的礦物質更容易被人體消化吸收，消化吸收率高達80%。