You can eat from the roof

On the roof of a hotel in Bangkok, dozens of barrels grow spirulina, an edible alga packed with protein, making it a good substitute for meat or fish. The algae are grown by EnerGaia, a company that claims to be the only one to supply fresh spirulina. Other companies only sell dried and processed varieties.

The roof is an ideal location for the nursery: high temperature and always sunlight. Harvesting takes place three times a week, because the algae grows quickly and doubles in size in 24 hours. Compare that with meat. It takes six months to produce a kilogram of meat; the algae does it in a week.

After the algae has been harvested, it is rinsed and dried in a converted washing machine. Then she is pushed into pots. That still has to be done by hand because there is no machine that can handle the thick jelly-like substance. The algae stays fresh for three weeks; a period that the company wants to extend so that it can also be exported.

Bil Marinelli, owner of the Oyster Bar, uses the stuff. "It's really good for you," he says between mouthfuls of green pasta made with the alga. "We add it to dishes to increase its nutritional value." The only downside – well, downside? – is the strong color of the algae; every dish in which it is processed turns green. But despite that and because the algae has no taste, Bil loves it.

Food experts call spirulina a superfood and its popularity is increasing worldwide. Rosa Rolle of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization FAO says that spirulina has been an important food source for centuries. In Mexico it was already eaten by the Incas. And in many countries along Lake Chad in West Africa, the algae is an important source of protein.

But she warns: people suffering from gout should avoid the alga because it produces a lot of uric acid. The algae, on the other hand, can do no harm to healthy people, or rather: it is beneficial because it contains many anti-oxidants.

Spirulina has been used as a food supplement for decades and is popular with bodybuilders. But whether you get a divine body from it, the article does not mention.

(Source: AFP/Bangkok Post, August 29, 2013)

Photos: A woman makes a spirulina shake.