What is that?
It is a type of vegetable gelatine widely used in vegan pastry making .
Agar agar is a food additive that is part of the thickener category.
It is identified with the acronym E406 , and it is with this acronym that it is found on food labels.
Thickeners are hydrocolloids, meaning they absorb water and then form a gelatinous or sticky substance. So if inserted into a liquid they do not dissolve but bind the water to create a gel .
How is it produced?
Agar agar was discovered in Japan, it is a 100% vegetal product, in fact it is extracted from red algae .
How it is made?
It appears as a fine, whitish powder .
How does it taste?
Agar agar is odorless, colorless and tasteless , so it does not alter the taste of the product being made. It is therefore good for sweet and savory dishes.
How is it used?
It is soluble in liquids .
It is heat soluble , this means that when added to cold liquid it does not form any immediate gel.
It is added to the liquid to be gelled, mixing with a whisk or, better yet, blending with an immersion blender. Bring it to the boil to activate it (it activates at around 80˚, by bringing it to the boil we are sure to activate it), it is not necessary to boil for a long time.
During cooling, a gelled compound is slowly formed, this occurs at a temperature of approximately 30/40°C.
For complete gelling it is necessary to let it rest for a few hours in the fridge.
Unlike gelatine sheets, it does not need soaking.
It is not necessary to heat all the liquid you want to gel, you can heat a part of the liquid with the agar and then add the remaining cold liquid and then gel everything together.
What properties does it have?
It forms a transparent gel, not very elastic, hard and fragile , it is not pudding and creamy on the palate.
It thickens at temperatures between 30 and 40°C while it melts between 80 and 90°C .
It is in fact thermoreversible , which means that once it has gelled we can heat it and melt it again, and it will thicken again, we can do this endlessly. This is a very interesting feature.
On the other hand, it has difficulty melting in the mouth so it may not be very pleasant.
Last but super important property: it is not resistant to freezing . Agar is therefore not suitable for preparations that must be frozen as it could release water during thawing: syneresis .
It has an extraordinary hygroscopic capacity , in fact it swells, absorbing up to twenty times its weight in water when brought to the boil.
How much do you use?
Agar gels at very low concentrations, starting from 0.2% up to 2% of the liquid to be gelled.
Where can you buy it?
It is very easy to find online such as on Amazon or cooking/pastry shops such as Sapore Puro, but today it can also be easily purchased in common supermarkets.
Here you will find the various links to the online shops.
How much does it cost?
The price varies from around 7 to 12 euros per pound.
storage
Store in dry, cool conditions and not in direct sunlight. Use within the expiry date on the package.
