Sources
The 'original' carrageenan was Chondrus Crispus,a red seaweed found in the north Atlantic. Another
name for this seaweed is 'Irish moss'; a name still used in the brewing industry. Chondrus
crispusactually contains a mix of carrageenan types, the predominant ones being kappa and lambda.
Today Newfoundland is one of the main sources of chondrus crispus but it is not a major source of
carrageenan in world terms. Chondrus Crispus is wild harvested and not farmed. The only farmed
Chondrus Crispusis used in the culinary market.
Gigartinais one of the major species used in the extraction of carrageenan. Gigartinais wild harvested
in various forms including Gigartina Skottsbergiioff the coast of Argentina and Chile, Gigartina Stellata
from the coast of France. Gigartinais a mixed weed type. Unlike in some weed types Gigartinahas the
various carrageenan types actually mixed up along the same polymer chain in a 'hybrid' type of
polymer. Iridaeais another type of South American weed found off the coast of Chile. Both of these
weed types contain mixtures of kappa, iota and lambda carrageenan. Hybrid weed species are often
preferred in some dairy applications.
Eucheumais a pacific specie and comes in two major commercial forms, Eucheuma Cottonii
andEucheuma Spinosum. Unlike the other weed types the Eucheumaspecies are relatively pure in the
carrageenan type they contain. Cottoniiis predominantly kappa carrageenan and Spinosumis largely
iota carrageenan.This allows greater flexibility in formulation because you are not restricted to the
ratios of kappa and iota that happen to occur in the native weedstock. The largest commercial source
of Eucheumais the Philippines where the weed is actually farmed rather than wild harvested. Other
major sources include Indonesia and to a lesser extent Africa and the pacific islands.
Hypneaand furcellaranare other types of carrageenan that are seen occasionally. The classification of
seaweeds is still a confused subject and many other names are also heard these names are used
interchangeably in the industry. For example Eucheuma Cottoniiis often referred to as Kappaphycus
Alvarezeiand although this may not be technically correct it is common practise.