When you’re out at the beach this summer, it’s important to be careful of the sea. From unexpectedly swimming out of your depth to getting caught in a rip tide to swimming into a swarm of unfriendly jellyfish, there’s plenty of cause to stick to the shallows.
Another crucial bit of water safety is to do you best not to swallow any sea water. Small quantities while you’re out for a swim likely won’t do you any harm, but larger quantities can seriously dehydrate you and even damage your organs.
The reason for this is the high salt content. Around the UK’s coastline it seems there’s a good chance you’ll be swimming in sewage too, so there might be all kinds of nasty pathogens in that water just waiting to put you out of action.
It’s unclear whether Brooklyn Beckham’s local sea waters have also been tainted by industrial and sewage waste courtesy of local water authorities, but at the very least we can expect it to be pretty salty.
The son of national treasures David and Victoria Beckham, Brooklyn lives in the US with wife Nicola Peltz and, along with modelling and photography, he’s also an enthusiastic home cook and hot sauce entrepreneur.
Sharing one of his recent home cooking exploits, Brooklyn whipped up some tomato pasta. The final product looks pretty fantastic, but the first step in the process has raised a few eyebrows. Rather than boiling the pasta in some seasoned tap water, Brooklyn scoops up some seawater for the job.
Cooking with sea water is traditional amongst coastal communities around the world, and generally it’s safe to do. However, along with the salt content you need to be mindful of the potential pollution. Sewage is one thing to consider, along with forever chemicals like PFAS and other industrial nasties that you’d rather not include in your dinner.
Still, the water he uses looks pretty crystal clear, so hopefully he and his family got to enjoy the tasty-looking dish without having to book out their diaries with bathroom visits.
Delicious as the meal looks, and clean as the water seems, the comments were awash with divided opinion.
“Why are you using pool water???” said one user who’s got some pretty out there expectations about pool locations and sizes.
“That’s sea water, perfect amount of salt for cooking pasta,” said another user to correct them whilst hitting the nail on the head.
“Wait, why the ocean water? Lol!” asked another. Even if they’re familiar with the salt element, it would be fair enough to say ‘just use tap water and sprinkle some salt in, dude’.
“Not sure about that water,” chimed another.
“Brooklyn no man, not ocean water,” said another who shared a litany of crying emojis. The despair likely isn’t warranted.
“Looks delicious!” said one fan. “Newfoundlander’s use ocean water to cook their fresh lobster and crab in.”
“Has the perfect amount of salt and seasoning,” said another defending Brooklyn’s sea water use.
“Nice work! I see you’re cooking on a yacht too. Nice one!” Nice one indeed.
“I'm definitely going to have to try Cloud23,” said another fan, referring to Brooklyn’s hot sauce company.
A final one summed it up for everyone at the back: “Looks good! And no need to add any salt as you got the water straight from the ocean.”
Featured Image Credit: Dave Benett/Contributor/Getty ImagesTopics: Celebrity, Social Media
Rachael Davis