Agar-agar – what is it, composition and benefits, home recipes

The content of the article

• What agar agar is made of
• What is agar agar in cooking
• Agar Agar Recipes
• bird’s milk
• Marshmallows
• Jelly
• Marmalade
• Souffle

This unfamiliar name for many is easily explained – a gelatin substitute. You can cook delicious desserts with him if you know how to use agar-agar. This element has a number of positive properties that will benefit the human body. Agar agar does not dissolve in cold water, it can be done at a temperature of 100 degrees.

What agar agar is made of

Agar-agar – what is it known to those who wanted to make a tasty and healthy dish for dessert. This algae gelatin is called Malay. In Southeast Asia, he is well known to all locals. The word translated from their language means “algae”, from which the substance is extracted. As a rule, these are plants of brown, red color, grow on the bottom of the sea or are grown specifically on plantations.

It is described above what natural gelatin is obtained from, and the process of extracting a gelling substance itself proceeds differently. Now there is special equipment for this, but the technology still remains the same as was used by the inhabitants of Asia:

1. Algae wash, cleanse.
2. Treated with alkali.
3. A gelling agent is recovered from the solution..
4. The resulting mixture is filtered..
5. Hardening awaits.
6. Then pressed.
7. Dried, crushed, packed.

What is agar agar in cooking

Use this product to prepare different dishes, sometimes it is recommended to use for the preparation of a diet menu, weight loss. What is agar-agar in cooking – a gelling agent of white color and curd consistency. Sometimes this ingredient acts as a mild, mild laxative. The product has two forms of release: white-yellow powder or plates. When interacting with a hot liquid, the odorless powder turns into a thick, jelly-like jelly.

Agar Agar Recipes

This ingredient is used, as a rule, for the preparation of jam, marmalade, jelly, marshmallows, soufflé, pastilles or candy fillings. Low-calorie product allows you to use the component when creating dishes for diabetics and diet food. The gelatin substitute contains many macro- and microelements, vitamins, and other substances that positively affect the human body. The only negative – the digestive tract is hard to absorb this substance. There are many recipes with photos of delicious dishes based on agar-agar.

bird’s milk

This cake is considered very popular among light, tasty, diet dessert options. Instead of gelatin, when cooking, it is better to use a natural algae product to prepare soufflé for the dish. The combination of a delicate base, thin cake and chocolate glaze leaves no one indifferent.

Ingredients:

For the test:

• sugar – 120 g;
• baking powder – 1 tsp;
• egg yolks – 7 pcs.;
• flour – 160 g;
• vanilla sugar – 1 tsp;
• butter – 100 g.

For souffle:

• agar-agar – 10 g;
• butter – 170 g;
• lemon acid – ? tsp;
• sugar – 250 g;
• condensed milk – 250 g;
• butter – 170 g.

For glaze:

• cream – 200 g;
• dark chocolate – 200 g;
• butter – 30 g.

Cooking method:

1. You should start with the test. Separate 7 egg yolks, and put the proteins in the refrigerator. Add 125 g of regular and 10 g of vanilla sugar, whisk at high speed with a white mixer. Do not turn off the appliance and put soft butter 100 g. You should get a white lush mass.
2. Mix 160 g of flour in a bowl with a teaspoon of baking powder. Sift the contents into the previously obtained mixture, mix gently and knead the dough.
3. Take a detachable mold with a diameter of 26 cm, cover the bottom with baking paper, lay out the dough and flatten along the edges. Set the oven temperature to 200 degrees Celsius, bake for 20 minutes. Remove the cake, let it cool on the board to room temperature.
4. 2 tsp with agar top pour? glasses of water, leave for 15 minutes.
5. With a sharp long knife, cut the cake into two halves in height. Put the swollen agar-agar on the fire, pour 240 g of sugar to it and warm to 116 degrees.
6. Remove squirrels from 7 eggs from the refrigerator, beat with a mixer at high speed until a strong foam is obtained, pour in the slowly obtained gelled syrup.
7. Beat this mixture until a dense foam is obtained. Then put there? tsp citric acid.
8. Switch the mode to medium speed, put a little 170 g of butter, 250 g of condensed milk.
9. Put the cake in the mold again, put 75% of the souffle on top, cover with the second half of the cake, put the rest of the souffle. Smooth the top layer and refrigerate for 3 hours.
10. Pour 200 g of cream into a saucepan, bring to a boil, pour the contents into a bowl where 200 g of dark chocolate is already sliced.
11. Stir until the contents have completely melted. Put another 30 g butter, rub for 5 minutes. Take out the cake from the refrigerator, with a sharp knife, separate the cake from the walls, put on a wire rack.
12. Pour the icing that has cooled down to 30 degrees on the cake, smooth the layer, smear excesses on the sides.
13. Let the glaze harden and serve..

Marshmallows

This dessert can be prepared at home. Replace gelatin with agar-agar, which will give exactly the same end result. You can buy it at a pharmacy or store along with nutritional supplements. The recipe is based on applesauce, which will add flavor to the dish. Step by step instructions for making dessert below.

Ingredients:

• agar-agar – 10 g;
• apples – 4 pcs.;
• sugar – 450 g for agar, 250 g for apples;
• citric acid – 1 g;
• egg white – 1 pc..

Cooking method:

1. Pour 150 g of water into the stewpan, add algal gelatin, mix thoroughly and leave for an hour.
2. Peel the apples, chop in segments (small), put on the mold. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until soft, temperature – 180 degrees Celsius.
3. Mash the finished fruit until smooth.
4. Pour applesauce into a bowl, pour 250 g of sugar. Beat the mass with a combine or blender.
5. Next, add the egg protein to the apple mixture.
6. Heat the resulting mass on agar, stir and gradually add 450 g of sugar. On fire, you need to keep the syrup until it starts to “stretch”.
7. Pour the sweet base to applesauce. Bring the mixture to a uniform state.
8. Transfer the finished base into a cooking bag, make marshmallows and leave it for a day.
9. Sprinkle the finished dish with powdered sugar.

Jelly

This seaweed-based diet dish is great for vegetarians. In its composition, agar-agar is much better than gelatin, which prompts it to be replaced. You can buy the component in the store, the gelling ability is always indicated on the package. The recipe is designed for 5 people and 15 minutes of the creation process..

Ingredients:

• sweet syrup to taste;
• agar-agar – 10 g;
• hot water – 500 ml;
• cold water – 150 ml.

Cooking method:

1. Dissolve agar in cold water, it happens quickly, usually.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil, stir, then make the fire less and hold for another 1 minute..
3. Make a sweet mixture of hot water, syrups.
4. Thoroughly mix both components (sweet water and agar).
5. To get a bright jelly, take a sweet component, for example, cherry and blueberry flavor.
6. Pour the resulting mass into the molds.
7. Leave to set jellies at room temperature, but should be stored strictly in the refrigerator.

Marmalade

This dish is easy to prepare at home. It will turn out a tasty, healthy treat for children and adults. Any fruit juice is suitable for creating, you can immediately mix a few. An attractive appearance will turn out if you take some bright option, for example, orange, cherry, pomegranate. The recipe is simple..

Ingredients:

• sugar – 0.5 cups;
• freshly squeezed juice – 2 oranges (approximately 200 ml);
• agar-agar – 1 tsp.

Cooking method:

1. Add agar juice to 150 ml, leave the mixture to infuse for half an hour.
2. Add sugar to the remaining juice, put the mixture on fire, bring to a boil. Add swollen agar to hot juice, stir and cook for about 7 minutes after boiling.
3. Turn off the heat, leave the mixture on the stove for another 10 minutes.
4. Pour still hot base into molds.
5. Wait for the jelly to cool to room temperature and refrigerate..

Souffle

This component often becomes the basis for different cakes, pastries and other desserts. As a rule, soufflé on agar-agar is used to create a bird’s milk treat, but it can also be used in other recipes. Gelatin should be replaced because agar is needed less, it contains substances useful for the human body. Instructions for preparing a souffle will show that everyone can cope with the task.

Ingredients:

• milk – 500 ml;
• cream (33%) -? l;
• vanillin;
• sugar – 400 g;
• agar-agar – 4 tsp.

Cooking method:

1. Mix sugar, milk, cream, vanilla and beat with a mixer. Put the mixture in hot water (you can directly in the sink) for 20 minutes.
2. Prepare a souffle mold. Oil the walls or lay with cling film / paper.
3. In milk, put 3 tbsp. l sugar and add agar. Put on fire, stirring, bring to a boil, then boil the mixture for another 1 minute.
4. Pour the agar stems into a mixture of milk and cream with a thin stream, whipping with a mixer at this time.
5. Pour the composition into the mold, leave to cool in the refrigerator.