In 1845, responding to the crop failure and resulting famine of 1844, he published Anvisning till nödbrödsämnen–om användandet af lafvar till föda ("Guide to famine bread ingredients–on using lichens as food"), a practical guide describing how to use four species of lichen for making bread.
This publication included actual herbarium specimens to help readers identify the useful species: Cetraria islandica, Cladonia rangiferina, Cetraria nivalis, and Ramalina fraxinea.
[2] In journalism, Torssell founded the newspaper Thorgny in Uppsala following the influential Nordic student meeting of 1843.
[3][4] The paper, published twice weekly on Mondays and Thursdays, was named after Torgny the Lawspeaker, a figure who experienced renewed popularity in 19th-century Scandinavian and liberal circles.
Under Torssell's leadership, Thorgny became an important forum for discussing Scandinavist ideas and other contemporary issues.