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Agar Agar: What You Need to Know About the Vegetable Gelling Agent

Agar Agar is not only a real alternative to conventional gelling agents for vegans and vegetarians. We explain how to use the purely plant-based gelling agent and how it is made.

Agar Agar gelling agent – what is it?

Agar Agar are carbohydrates found in the cell walls of blue and red algae. Agar Agar is made from dried seaweed. The powder is made from them. Agar agar has been at home in Japanese cuisine since the 17th century. For example as a thickening agent in soups or as a gelling agent in sweets and ice cream.

Unlike gelatin, which contains bones, cartilage and connective tissue from cattle and pigs, it is purely vegetable. You can buy agar agar either in a jar or in small paper packets, similar to baking powder. Most drugstores, health food stores and health food stores have the vegetable gelling agent in their range.

Agar Agar: The Japanese gelatin

Agar agar is mainly produced in East Asia, i.e. in Japan, China and Korea. But it is also made in Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The name “agar agar” comes from Indonesia and Malaysia, but is also the proper name there for the food mixed with the algae gelatine.

The problem with the East Asian origin: Before the vegetable gelling agent ends up in our kitchen, it has already traveled a long way. Importing creates additional CO2 emissions. Therefore, you should use agar agar with care.

Also, the algae that make up agar agar are mostly grown in aquaculture. The growing demand for algae consumes a lot of water. Pests can also spread more easily in these algae farms, since the nets with the algae are very close together. Many organic manufacturers therefore pay attention to high water and algae quality. Their aquacultures are mostly located away from towns and villages, so that the drinking water is not contaminated. When buying agar agar, you should therefore pay attention to the corresponding organic seal.

How to use agar agar

You can easily use agar agar for sweet and savory dishes – just like conventional gelatine.

You only have to be careful with the amount and read the package information very carefully. Because agar agar cannot be dosed one-to-one like gelatine.
Agar agar only dissolves in boiling liquids and only solidifies when it cools.
The gelling power of the plant product is six to ten times stronger than that of conventional gelling agents.
However, agar agar reacts differently to each liquid. Acid and fat in particular can weaken the binding capacity. Fruits such as plums and apricots, on the other hand, increase the gelling power.
Tip: If you prefer to be on the safe side, you should do a gelling test.

Place a plate in the freezer for a few minutes.
After you have boiled the liquid with agar agar according to the instructions on the package, put a few spoonfuls of the mixture on the chilled plate.
If it’s still too runny after two to three minutes, you’ll need to add a little more agar-agar powder. If the mass is too firm, more liquid is needed.

How healthy is agar agar?

Since agar agar is a product made from seaweed, it has a high protein content. Other ingredients are:

B vitamins
beta-carotene
vitamin k
Agar agar consists mainly of slow-digesting carbohydrates and protein. You should be careful not to consume too much agar agar. In large quantities, the vegetable gelling agent can have a laxative effect.

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Food

Carrageenan: This is What The Gelling Agent is Made of

Carrageenan is one of the most common additives and is often used as a gelling agent and stabilizer. However, carrageenan is controversial due to health consequences: It is considered carcinogenic and is banned in baby food.

Carrageenan is popular with vegans and vegetarians: the gelling agent is based on red algae and contains no animal additives. However, it does not thicken as well as, for example, agar agar and can only be used with warm dishes. The carrageen powder does not dissolve cold and therefore does not thicken.

Carrageen: Not a purely natural ingredient

Carrageenan is one of the additives and, as a thickening agent, is often declared as E407 on food packaging. Carrageen is particularly common in cream, pudding, ice cream and other dairy products. Carrageenan can also be found in wine and beer, as the substance is often used as a filter agent.

Strictly speaking, carrageen consists of red algae, but the substance is no longer natural:
In order to extract carrageen from red algae, it has to be chemically extracted.
This is done using potassium chloride or solutions containing alcohol.
After that, the carrageenan must be filtered out and dried.
There are many different types of carrageenan: If carrageenan consists of large molecules, it is largely considered harmless. Small molecular carrageenan varieties are mostly banned because they are proven to be harmful to health. However, impurities of up to 5 percent are allowed, so you should better avoid carrageenan in food.

Carrageenan carcinogenic? health hazard

As early as 1982, a study using animal experiments showed that carrageenan is probably carcinogenic. A large number of other studies with rats and hamsters also came to this conclusion.
A 2017 study also found chronic bowel disease as a result of carrageenan in mice.
But there are also some studies in which carrageenan had no effect. How carrageenan works in humans has not (yet) been researched.
The World Health Organization (WHO) does not officially warn against carrageenan, but recommends a maximum dose of 75mg/kg body weight.

Vegan alternatives to carrageenan

We advise against carrageenan due to possible health risks. There are some good vegan alternatives to carrageenan:
Agar Agar
pectin
psyllium husks

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Food

Gellan (E 418): Special Features of The Gelling and Thickening Agent

Gellan is a gelling agent that is mostly used in the food industry to gel jam. It is vegan and considered harmless to health.

What is gellan?

Gellan is a plant-based polysaccharide primarily used in the food industry. There gellan is used as a food additive E418 as a gelling, thickening and stabilizing agent. Gellan has properties similar to pectin and is therefore often used as a gelling agent for jams and marmalades. It is also often used as a stabilizer for soy milk to keep it from creaming.

According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), gellan is considered safe for humans because it cannot be used by our body as roughage. Since fiber stimulates digestion, high consumption of gellan can have a laxative effect.

Gellan is produced biotechnologically using Pseudomonas bacteria. These form gellan by themselves in the course of their metabolism. In order to isolate the gellan from the bacterial solution, it is heated and then the gellan is precipitated with isopropyl alcohol.

Where else is gellan used?

Gel formers are not only interesting for the food industry. Gellan also finds application in the pharmaceutical industry. For example, eye drops are often gelled with gellan so that they stay in the eye longer. It is also used in microbiological research as an alternative to the gelling agent agar agar to solidify culture media.

Unlike gelatine, gellan is a vegan gelling agent. Although it is harmless to health, it is worth taking a closer look at the list of ingredients: Gellan is often used in combination with other thickeners and other additives to achieve the desired gel texture.

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Food

Sodium Alginate (E 401): What You Need to Know About The Gelling Agent

Sodium alginate (E 401) is a common food additive. It serves as a gelling agent or as a coating agent to ensure that the food does not dry out. Sodium alginate limits apply to certain products.

Sodium alginate can be found on the ingredient lists of many foods under the E number E 401. The substance is often only declared as alginate. These are the salts of alginic acid (E 400). Sodium alginate and alginic acid are both components of the cell walls of red and brown algae. In order to obtain sodium alginate from red and brown algae, the algae must be dried, ground and then treated with an alkaline lye. So sodium alginate is not a real natural product, even if it is of plant origin.

Sodium alginate: additive with many properties

Sodium alginate is popular in the food industry:
The substance is easily soluble in water.
When calcium ions are added, alginate forms a gel that is stable in boiling, freezing and baking. Both the color and the consistency of the food are preserved.
As a coating agent, sodium alginate gives food stability. This way they stay in shape even after freezing and thawing.
Alginate makes sauces creamier and desserts creamier.
Fat and water mix more easily after adding sodium alginate.
The Additives Approval Ordinance (ZZulV) and an EU regulation regulate which products have maximum values. Most products allow manufacturers to use unlimited amounts of sodium alginate. Certain limits apply to these products:
Infant and young child food: 1 g/l
packaged, refrigerated, unprocessed and ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables: 2.4 g/kg
Desserts and puddings: 0.5 g/l
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has not yet specified a recommended maximum daily intake (ADI) for sodium alginate. According to the BZfE, organic products may also contain sodium alginate.

Use of sodium alginate

Sodium alginate (E 401) is often found in the following products:
desserts,
jam, jellies, marmalade,
Canned goods,
custard powder,
soups,
salad dressings and mayonnaise,
Bakery products,
frozen products,
Cream,
Cut cheese,
Ice,
Light and diet products.

How healthy is sodium alginate?

In the additives database of the consumer initiative, sodium alginate is classified as “harmless”. However, Codecheck points out that excessive consumption can be problematic. The background is that alginates can prevent the absorption of many substances in the intestine – for example iron and calcium.

There is a lot of research related to diet products. Scientists have discovered that sodium alginate can reduce appetite and insulin levels. However, the effect is not very lasting: the calorie intake when eating two hours later was just as high.

Conclusion: Sodium alginate is a common additive found in frozen and light foods, among other things. It is considered harmless, but you should still not eat it in large quantities. Since it is not absolutely necessary for groceries, you can usually find an alternative in the supermarket without sodium alginate.

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Cooking Tips

Pectin: This is Hidden Behind The Vegan Gelling Agent

Pectin is a vegan gelling agent. But how can it be used and what should you consider? The answers and more information about pectin can be found here.

pectin in plants

Pectin is a gelling agent that is used in many foods. Similar to agar agar

Chemically, pectin is a polysaccharide. Basically there is no such thing as pectin. It is a component of almost all plants and stabilizes the cells of the plants and regulates the water. It comes in different forms.

Fruit in particular has a particularly high proportion of pectin. For example, the pectin content of cherries is 0.4 percent. Apricots contain one and apples even up to 1.5 percent.

Pectin as a gelatine substitute

Pectin is widely used in the food industry. The ability to gel is responsible for the consistency of jams, jellies and preserves. It can be used as a plant-based substitute for gelatin in vegan foods.

If you want to make jam yourself, you can use pectin in the form of preserving sugar. It consists essentially of sugar and pectin. The advantage of jam sugar is that it is very easy to use. According to the manufacturer’s instructions, you add a certain amount of preserving sugar to a certain amount of fruit.

Because you also dose the pectin via the amount of sugar, you have to use the specified dosage of gelling sugar in order to achieve the desired result. So you can’t sweeten freely according to your taste. There is another disadvantage of jam sugar: Depending on the supplier, it may contain other substances such as citric acid or preservatives in addition to sugar and pectin.

Pure pectin – an alternative to jam sugar

If you don’t want any additives or preservatives in your homemade jam, you can also buy pure pectin as a powder. It is then highly concentrated and you should dose it precisely so that your jam gets the desired consistency. You can sweeten the jam to your taste with sugar or even better cane sugar.

You can even make your own pectin yourself. This is not so hard:

Cut apples into small pieces and boil them with water in a 2:1 ratio for about 45 minutes.
Allow the resulting mush to drain in a cloth overnight. But you mustn’t squeeze it out.
Reduce the liquid by half the next day.
Add one part of your homemade pectin to four parts of fruit to make jam.

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