Gelatin is not always the easiest or most fun material to work with in a kitchen, but for certain dishes, it’s hard to avoid it. However, if you want to be free from gelatin, there is an alternative, namely agar-agar.
Agar-agar is a gelling agent made from algae extract. It is a fine powder that dissolves and boils in liquid, and then solidifies upon cooling.
Here, we take a closer look at how to use agar-agar in various classic gelatin recipes.
Fromage
When making fromage with gelatin, timing is incredibly important. Fromage with gelatin needs to start setting before it is poured into a bowl, otherwise the gelatin will sink to the bottom.
With agar-agar, you also need to be alert, as it sets very quickly. Therefore, it’s advantageous to have whipped cream and egg whites mixed in advance before preparing to add the agar to the fromage.
Take 4 level teaspoons of agar powder and dissolve it in about 100 ml of liquid – it can be water, milk, or juice depending on the type of fromage. Then, boil it for 4-5 minutes and let it cool for only a short time before mixing it into the fromage along with the whipped cream and beaten whites. After that, the fromage should be stirred as little as possible to avoid separating and not setting properly.
Fromage with agar-agar should be eaten the same day it is made.
Fruit and Juice Jelly, etc.
Agar-agar is also excellent for fruit and juice jelly, but one should be aware that the mixing ratios change depending on what the powder is mixed with.
For 1 liter of juice with fruit pieces, use 4 level tablespoons, but if the juice is pureed and without fruit pieces, only use 3½ level tablespoons.
The finely powdered powder can also be used for egg custard and egg-cream custard, where one again needs to pay attention to the mixing ratios. If using 1 liter of milk or regular cream, use 3 level tablespoons, while only 2½ tablespoons per liter of whipped cream are needed. For one egg, use ¾ teaspoon.
Both when making egg custard and egg-cream custard, the agar-agar is added warm to the egg yolks, after which the other ingredients should quickly be mixed in and poured up. Again, the custard can easily seem separated, which is why it is important to act quickly once the agar powder has been added to the mixture.
Recipes with Agar Agar
We have, among others, these recipes with agar-agar: