How to Make Sea Moss Gel From Raw Sea Moss
Making sea moss gel takes four steps: rinse, soak, blend, and refrigerate. Start with raw organic Purple African sea moss, and in about a day you will have a jar of fresh gel with no additives but water.
How do you make sea moss gel?
Rinse raw sea moss to clear ocean debris, soak it in clean water until it softens and expands, blend it with fresh water until smooth, then refrigerate. It sets into a gel within a few hours. The only ingredients are sea moss and water.
Make sea moss gel in four steps
1. Rinse: Rinse the raw sea moss under cool, clean water to wash off sand, salt, and ocean debris. Pick out the odd shell fragment. You want it clean, not stripped, so a quick rinse is enough.
2. Soak: Cover the rinsed moss in clean water and let it soak until it softens and roughly doubles in size, usually several hours to overnight. Drain it when it feels plump and gel-like. Some people add lime; that is optional.
3. Blend: Add the drained moss to a blender with fresh water, a little at a time, and blend until completely smooth. Less water makes a thicker gel; more makes it pourable. Adjust to how you plan to use it.
4. Refrigerate: Pour the blended gel into a clean jar and refrigerate. It firms up within a few hours and keeps for about two to three weeks. Use a clean spoon every time to make it last.
Tips that make the difference
Use clean, filtered water for soaking and blending. The gel is mostly water, so it is worth it. Do not over-rinse, or you wash away the minerals you are doing this for in the first place.
Texture is personal. Start with less water than you think; you can always blend in more. If your gel comes out grainy, it usually just needs another minute in the blender.
Buy it ready-made
Making your own is satisfying and cheap per ounce, but it is a project. If you want sea moss in your week without the soak-and-blend, Yaow Seamoss sells flavored and unflavored gel ready to spoon, in 16 oz and 32 oz jars.
Either way the raw material is the same: organic Purple African sea moss, hand harvested off the corals of East Africa, unbleached, and lab-tested. A 1 lb bag of raw moss makes a lot of gel if you want to do it yourself.
Frequently asked questions
**How much gel does raw sea moss make?**
Raw sea moss expands a lot when it soaks. As a rough guide, a quarter pound of dry moss makes roughly a quart of gel, depending on how much water you blend in. A 1 lb bag makes a large batch.
**How long does homemade sea moss gel last?**
Kept in a sealed jar in the refrigerator and handled with a clean spoon, homemade gel keeps about two to three weeks. You can also freeze it in portions if you make a big batch.
**Do I need to add lime to make sea moss gel?**
No. Lime is optional, used by some people during soaking out of tradition or to freshen the smell. Clean water is all you need. The only required ingredients are sea moss and water.
**Why is my sea moss gel watery or not setting?**
Usually one of three things: too much blending water, too short a soak, or not enough time in the fridge. Soak until the moss roughly doubles, start with less water than you think, and give the jar several hours cold. If it is still thin, blend in a little more soaked moss.
—