Agar Agar strands

April 27, 2007 8:48am CST
Has anyone used Agar agar before?I used to buy vege gel here in UK before but I don't have it at home now.I recently bought some agar strands which came in a 25 gm pack.The problem is,I donot know how to use it.I did some research and it looks to me like it will take forever to dissolve, and that agar agar powder is easier to dissolve.I am planning to use it in a recipe for applets and cotlets that I found at recipezaar.here is the link for the recipe if you are interested: http://www.recipezaar.com/192298 I would be very thankful if someone could point me out how to use agar agar strands instaed of gelatine.I know there are lots of people from asia and the philippined that are members here,so please help me out!:)responses from personal experiences would be very welcome too!
2 responses
krebstar5
@krebstar5 (1266)
• United States
27 Apr 07
I've used the strands before and have since switched to the powder. When I used the strands the first time, I had a really hard time getting them to disolve and I was left with hard pieces of it in my jelly. Here is what I was able to find for equivilents though: Equivalents: Each of these amounts will firm two cups of liquid: 3 tablespoons agar flakes = 2 teaspoons agar powder = 1 kanten bar The problem is that I also found this site: http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/agar.htm They say that one bar should be used for 3 cups. I would try it with two cups because I prefer a stronger set. Also, my recipe called for two cups of liquid when I tried to use the bars. Agar-Agar is really great though. I love to make jelly with tea and agar agar.
qouniq
@qouniq (1966)
• Malaysia
27 Apr 07
I don't really like the agar agar powder as I find that the taste of the agar agar made from the agar agar strands is much better for me. What I always do is boil the agar agar strands with some amount of water and add the sugar together. Bring the water to boil and the agar agar strands will dissolve easily. When it is dissolve then I add the other ingredients for my agar agar such as the flavor and the color.