We gather laver (Porphyra umbilicalis) sustainably from the rocks on the shoreline of the Pembrokeshire Coast.
Laver has been foraged from Wales’ rocky coastline for centuries. Some suspect that Norse occupation in the ninth century may have caused food shortages that forced the Welsh to seek nourishment on the shore.
Sixteenth-century author William Camden describes the country’s “peasantry” collecting what they called lhavan (“black butter”) in his book Britannia.
Across the globe, another island nation embraced the same ingredient: Japanese chefs use sheets of dried laver, which they call nori, to wrap sushi.
