Is spirulina the food of the future? In the KRO-NCRV program BinnensteBuiten, chef Alain Caron went in search of the answer to this question.
Nutrients
In Rotterdam, Alain meets Freya Workum from Algy Foods, who lets him taste fresh spirulina dissolved in water. Because spirulina has a neutral taste, you can easily incorporate it into smoothies, pesto and even 'green' orange juice, says Freya. She explains that spirulina is packed with important nutrients, including antioxidants, essential amino acids, iron, and beta-carotene.
Extremely durable
Afterwards, Alain and Freya visit Tim van Koolwijk's algae farm in the former Tropicana swimming pool. Tim, who also grows spirulina for Supergreens, shows how he works.
The spirulina is grown in barrels, which is extremely sustainable: Tim can produce no less than 10,000 times as much food on 1 square meter as on traditional farmland. In addition, it uses 40 times less water, and the process is also CO2 negative.
After harvesting, the spirulina is filtered in a machine. The nutrient-rich water that is collected in this process goes back into the vessel and is thus reused.
Scallops with spirulina
Alain shows how easy it is to incorporate spirulina into your meal. For Freya and Tim, he prepares scallops with truffle and endive, adding fresh spirulina to the endive puree. Alain sees all kinds of other possibilities for using spirulina in your food, such as juices, sauces, vegetable dishes and cakes. Tim wants to challenge people to experiment with cooking with spirulina themselves.
Super food
So is spirulina, an alga millions of years old, indeed the food of the future? At Supergreens we say yes! Spirulina contains healthy nutrients*, is sustainable and versatile. A real super food. Experience it for yourself and orderfresh spirulina from Supergreens today.
Watch the episode of BinnensteBuiten from January 10, 2023 here . The item about spirulina is divided into three blocks: from minute 5:52, minute 17:13 and minute 28:07.