Meat Free Everyday - Food for Thought

Cooking with agar agar

Vegetarians do not eat gelatine! It's a byproduct of animal skins, hooves and bones. So vegetarians don't eat jelly beans, marshmallows, trifle or any jelly based dessert. I wonder how many vegetarians actually know that? Even I forget every now and again. Sweets hardly seem like meat do they? What vegetarians do eat is agar agar. It is widely used in food manufacture to thicken salad dressings, jam, cheese, sauces or to make mousses.

You have to get the knack of working with agar agar. You can't add hot water and leave it to set like you do jelly. It doesn't have a clear wobbly texture like jelly either. Agar agar is more opaque in colour and has to be cooked to make it set. And when it sets, it's sets firm. If you know how to make a roux or white sauce then you already have the technique for preparing agar agar. It needs heat for a few minutes to be able to work it's magic. No need to boil to death or go mad. Agar agar will aslo set at room temperature, unlike gelatine.

So, how would you use agar agar? Once you've mastered just how much you need to get the density you're after, agagr agar becomes a valuable and vesatile food to work with. Think along the lines of a roast vegetable terrine or an avocado mousse. How about a berry "jelly" or a no-bake cheesecake? Avoid using highly acidic foods such as pineapple which can inhibit the gelling ability of agar agar. Other than that, it's a very handy vegetable gelling agent.

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