Features
Freezable, but doesn’t resist well to freezing and thawing (syneresis). Thermo reversible, melts at 85ºC (185ºF) and gels at 38ºC (100ºF).
To determine the dosage rate, it is necessary to keep in mind (in addition to the desired result) the characteristics of the product that we want to gelatinize, like acidity or alcoholic percentage and its serving temperature.
Agar has problems making gels in products with a pH lower than 5.5, in those cases the gel created is a little weaker. It produces a translucent (not entirely transparent) gel.
Presentation in powder form, neutral in smell and taste.
Applications
Indicated for any gelled preparation; savory or sweet, cold or hot.
Ideal for elaborating solid caviar (pearls), veils, fluid gels and all kinds of molded gelatins (for the great margin of work it offers before it gets set).
Perfect for hot and cold foams. Very good in synergy with starches or other ingredients.
Being one of the most present gelling agents in gastronomy, in the food industry it is even more common as a thickener for soups, creams and vegetable products and in almost all vegan dairy products, playing a central role in yogurts and cheeses.
In synergy with starches (especially Kuzu), it offers very interesting textures, gelatinous and creamy at the same time, thus being a resource of great interest for the elaboration of creamy vegan recipes.
2 – 5 g / L for soft and melt-in-your-mouth gelatins
5 – 10 g / L for hard gelled products or acid media
10 – 15 g / L for alcoholic or acidic products
Curiosities
E-406
Agar is a gelling agent extracted from red algae, including those of the genus Gellidium. Known as the gelling ingredient from Asian cuisine, it is traditionally consumed in vegan, vegetarian and macrobiotic diets. Agar-agar contains 95% fiber, and it has properties that boost digestion and help the stomach and intestine eliminate waste. It is very nutritious, providing the body with calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron, phosphorus, and iodine.
In addition, agar-agar or “kanten” in Japanese, is a source of fiber with positive effects on cholesterol levels, 0% fat, essential in vegan diets and gluten-free products.
Hysteresis is the property of gelling agents by which the thermal interval between gelling (in the case of Agar : 40ºC-104ºF) and melting (in the case of Agar, 85ºC-185ºF) is calculated. This makes agar the king of hysteresis, and that explains the multiplicity of uses that have been given to it.
The Agar-agar we buy is always the result of a mixture of algae, so if the mixture of algae changes the final product can be affected, giving softer or “creamy” textures. In this sense, we can take advantage of this fact to our interest, to gel water in a soft and creamy way and mix -for example- with a praline of nuts, obtaining a creamy and gelled texture.
Dosage
5 – 15 gr / Kg
