Seventeen (17) Things You Should Know About Agar Agar

1. It is also called Agar
2. It is an extract from seaweed, specifically Red Sea algae
3. Thus it is VEGAN
4. It comes in powder, flakes, bar – each with different guidelines for usage
5. It needs heat to dissolve properly / it needs to be dissolved in liquid and then brought to the boil
6. It can be cooked on high heat without loosing its gelling properties
7. It doesn’t need cold temperature (aka the refrigerator) to sett…meaning on a hot day, your desserts will stay firm
8. It sets ‘harder’ and less jiggly than gelatine
9. It produces a colourless set
10. It is odorless
11. And it is flavourless – letting the flavour of whatever you desire shine through. Woo hoo
12. Some enzymes in pineapples (cf. Zobo jelly) , papaya, mangoes and a few others prevent gelling. You can destabilise the enzymes by cooking the fruit first.
13. With high acidic foods – citrus etc , you may require more agar-agar than the recipe calls for
14. Ratios – to set one cup of liquid, use either: one teaspoon agar agar powder OR one tablespoon agar agar flakes OR  half an agar agar bar.
15. Substitutions – you can substitute 1 teaspoon agar agar powder for 1 teaspoon gelatin
16. It also has health benefits appaz -from regulating body fat and sugar, to waste removal and lowering cholesterol.
17. Outside of the culinary domain, it is used as a laxative because of its high (~80%) fibre content and sometimes to suppress appetites. Right…….. this I might try 🙂

So, I think that’s all I know. Well, maybe not but this isn’t bad for a start.

So what did I use it for? Coming up.[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Seventeen (17) Things You Should Know About Agar Agar – – – [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]