Irish Moss...

[walnutty]

I recently purchased a wonderful book..."I Am Grateful: Recipes & Lifestyle of Cafe Gratitude".

In a lot of their recipes they use irish moss and I wondered if there was anyone on this board that uses it...and if so, where do you purchase it?

p.s. Cafe Gratitude does sell it in their online store, but you have to buy 8 oz. of it and then also pay for shipping. I am looking for a smaller amount, so that I can try it in a recipe before I commit to purchasing a lot of it. Thanks!

[beppa66]

One lucky duck sells it.

[lily]

I sent for it over the internet -- got it from Ireland in the end.

Make sure that what you're getting is the bleached stuff -- sun-bleached, ideally -- it starts out purple, and the first batch I got was very dark in colour -- purple meringue, anyone?

lily

[Rubyred]

I live in San Francisco and have been the Cafe Gratitude and have their book. The recipes are fantastic!

As for the Irish moss...I bought my at the Cafe. I haven't tried this place, but they sell the moss:
Irish Moss (http://www.sunfood.com/Products/0927.html)

If you buy it through Cafe Gratitude, do remember to refrigerate it - another thing they don't tell you.

There are a few flaws in the cafe gratitude book, so be aware! When a recipe calls for "2 ounces moss", it means 2 ounces of soaked moss. For example I made the raw chocolate mousse (Freezes well, by the way), which called for 1/2 ounce, but it didn't tell me to "soak" it first, so it's really 1/2 ounce soaked moss. That's how it will get into a gel like substance. And then make sure when you blend it well, and it's completely blended and has become thickened.

I mention this because I didn't blend it well enough once and my mousse was really runny, and I also wouldn't have known to soak it first if I hadn't read about it online.

[lily]

Thanks, Rubyred, that's really helpful. It sounds as though the Irish Moss they sell at Cafe Gratitude is already soaked. I will try soaking it for a good long time.

One of my ambitions is to go to Cafe Gratitude -- I live in the UK -- but my daughter and I love the book and want to experience it for ourselves...

In the meantime, I'm going to get that Irish moss a-soakin'

lily

[mytymama]

Hello,
RubyRed, so good of you to point out the flaws of that wonderful recipe book by Cafe Gratitude. We live near Berkeley and are regulars-frequent all the local cafes and even order take out (we have two wee ones so, when the craving strikes....) Anyway, we love, love, love it!
I was so excited to make the deserts, ordered the moss www.purejoylivingfoods.com, and was surprised to follow the recipe and end up with a sludgey, yucky ocean aroma treat...tossed that and consulted the web. Duh! Tried again and made and AMAZING Bliss pie, with cacoa, hazelnuts, the works! My fav!
The site I mentioned above included great info about the moss and how to soak/clean it properly. I have used the moss half dozen times or so and and have discovered the longer I soak it, the easier it is to blend up smoothly which can make or break it in the texture department. I don't have a blendtec/vitamix, just an old osterizer I am waiting to die so I can justify an upgrade. Anyway...

[lily]

mytymama, my experience following the Irish Moss recipes (chocolate mousse, meringue) in Cafe Gratitude book was exactly the same as yours --I ended up so disappointed with, as you say, 'a sludgey, yucky ocean aroma treat..' which I tossed and regretted all the trouble I'd gone to and money I'd spent getting Irish moss.

Having read Rubyred's message I'm trying again -- my irish moss is soaking nicely -- and now it's really helpful to hear of your second attempt at using it, which sounds so good.

I think I'll let it soak for 24 hours, then have another go. I can't wait to make that fabulous lemon meringue pie in the book.

How lovely for you to live near Cafe Gratitude... I just love the whole ethos, but the nearest I can get at the moment is through the book...

lily

[veganman]

One secret I have learned about the moss....rinse it a lot before using. And use the fresh moss, not the dried.

[Rubyred]

mytymama, my experience following the Irish Moss recipes (chocolate mousse, meringue) in Cafe Gratitude book was exactly the same as yours --I ended up so disappointed with, as you say, 'a sludgey, yucky ocean aroma treat..' which I tossed and regretted all the trouble I'd gone to and money I'd spent getting Irish moss.

Having read Rubyred's message I'm trying again -- my irish moss is soaking nicely -- and now it's really helpful to hear of your second attempt at using it, which sounds so good.

I think I'll let it soak for 24 hours, then have another go. I can't wait to make that fabulous lemon meringue pie in the book.

How lovely for you to live near Cafe Gratitude... I just love the whole ethos, but the nearest I can get at the moment is through the book...

lily


Yes, the desserts are fantastic and amazing, and unlike regular desserts don't leave you feeling a little ill. The moss will double in size at least (use lots of H20), and if you started with 2 ounces dried, you might end up with 4 ounces in the end. I haven't tried freezing the leftover, but I think that might work.

Soaking and blending well seem to be the keys to making the moss work. Maybe we ought to email Cafe Gratitude and mention the next time they upgrade their recipe book they need to mention things like, "soak the moss for at least 12 hours" and "blend well". ;)

mytymama ,

Thanks for that link. A much better price on the moss. (8 ounces for $11.00 vs. 3 ounces for $8.00)

[EZ rider]

I have some moss in my backyard but its local moss not from Ireland. Can I use that in the recipes ?

[goodbeets]

Ez, irish moss is a kind of seaweed, back yard moss probably won't give you the same effect

[lily]

I tried the lemon meringue pie yesterday. I used soaked moss (24 hours) in the quantities given in the recipe, but it didn't set firm enough -- the lemon part ran all over the place when I cut into it, and the meringue also spread... it looked wonderful (until I cut it) and tasted DIVINE. I can't wait to try it again, but will use more moss... It will be a wonderful recipe once I can get it right.

lily