Sea grape
Caulerpa lentillifera · Seaweed
Top 10 pairings
Sea grape (Caulerpa lentillifera) — "umibudō" in Japanese, "green caviar," "lato" in the Philippines or "latok" — is an edible green seaweed whose fronds carry dense clusters of tiny, round, glistening green beads on slender stalks. Eaten fresh and raw, the beads burst between the teeth with a clean pop and a salty, sea-spray brine, which is why it is prized as a marine "caviar" rather than cooked as a vegetable.
Picking a good onedrag
Plump, glossy, springing backShrunken, shed, weeping
Day two or threeEveryday bestRaw salads, sashimi garnish, vinegar dressings.
Bead and sheenFull but matte, the shine gone
Press the packGives, then comes back slowly
Fronds and runnersA few bare tips, most fronds full
SmellFaint, barely marine
Keeping ittap a temperature
Below 15°C the beads lose turgor and shrivel within a day; a domestic fridge is the classic way to ruin them, and they never fully plump back.
High, in its sealed pack
Humidity
None — keep it sealed
Airflow