What is Lato Seaweed?

This delectable seaweed that looks like tiny grapes is called lato or caulerpa lentillifera. It’s very popular in the Philippines and in Japan they call it umi-budo. Lato is an unusual looking and enigmatic seaweed. It’s not obvious at first sight, but they are edible and delicious.

Caulerpa lentillifera, Sea Grapes, Latok, and Green Caviar are a few of the names for lato. It is a seaweed well known to the Philippines and close by countries. This seaweed variety is the main ingredient for a popular Filipino salad called “Ensaladang Lato” which translates to Seaweed Salad.

This seaweed doesn’t grow on the seashore but in intertidal zones, close to mangroves. That kind of site is common in Palawan (Located in the Philippines) and the water temperature is perfect for the lato as it rarely goes down under 29 degrees Celcius. Lato seaweed grows at the bottom of the sea, between 3 and 5 meters deep, 3 meters for low tide, 5 meters for high tide.

Where is lato seaweed from?

Lato Seaweed is very sensitive to cold. This survives in temperatures ranging around 20 to 35 degrees Celsius. Therefore, if kept in the refrigerator, it tends to wither due to cold. Lato Seaweed is mainly available in Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan. It is also distributed in tropical areas like Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania and Papua New Guinea.

Lato Seaweed is one of the best types of eaten Caulerpa due to its soft and succulence They are also called as sea-grape and green-caviar. They are also known as sea grapes or green caviar. It is farmed in the Philippines, where it is locally called ar-arosep,lato,arosep or ar-arosip (as variant names), It can also be found In the Malaysian state of Sabah, where locally it is known as Latok.

The pond cultivation of Lato seaweed has been very successful on Mactan Island, Cebu, in the central Philippines, with markets in Cebu and Manila. About 400 ha of ponds are under cultivation, producing 12–15 tonnes of fresh seaweed per hectare per year. Lato seaweed is also eaten in Okinawa, where it is known as umi-budō  which translates “sea grapes”.

The main motto to cultivate this water plant is to reduce the pressure of fishing and over exploited fisheries. It is also been known as alternate livelihood for small scale fishers. One more interesting thing about this is the only plant which make an income of 2 billions US dollar in japan itself.

The benefits of eating lato seaweed

Lato Seaweed is very good for persons who suffer from diabetes. A study shows that it is a potential anti-diabetic agent. According to research, it is high in iodine, magnesium, and vitamin K. It was also categorized as a diet-friendly food. This means that having Lato, the strange sea salad regularly is good for your body. You can probably make different salad versions so that every meal will be something to look forward to.
Lato Seaweed is highly nourishing as it contains vast proportions of minerals and vitamins.

• • People in Okinawa believe that if they eat this seaweed then they recover from serious illness as it contains high amounts of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and minerals.

• • It is effective for heat injury.

• • Being a good source of Magnesium, it reduces high blood pressure and prevents the heart attack.

• • This category of seaweed suppresses the cancer cell effect.

• It is rich in iodine which makes it useful for people suffering from thyroid problems.

Why I should buy lato seaweed at latoseaweed.com

Lato seaweed is harvested from under the sea. It’s quickly dehydrated during the process and it is later delivered to you in salt water brine as if it has been just harvested from under the sea. Our main goal is to provide the best quality of Lato Seaweed for a reasonable price. Our website provides great quality of Lato Seaweed at your doorsteps. We aim to deliver you, natural Lato Seaweed so we do not add any preservatives.

They dehydrate the seaweed when it is harvested, so all you need to do is rinse under running water to remove salty sea water and soak it into cool water for 2 to 3 minutes until Lato gets plumped to full succulence, that’s it. Now lato is ready to be part of your salad or many other recipes.

Lato seaweed bought from our website is the next best thing to being back home and enjoying it