I don't know anything about laboratory uses of agar, but I do use it in cooking. Something that baffles me is that so many recipes (at least in northern Europe) use gelatin when agar works just as well or better. Agar is cheaper, easier to handle, comes in more compact packaging, lasts longer, sets faster, is reversible, fits more food preferences, etc. Why this obsession with gelatin? What am I missing?
The article contains one possible clue: gelatin melts at body temperature. This implies dishes made with gelatin melt in the mouth like chocolate does, but I can't recall experiencing that (at least not to the extent of chocolate) when eating gelatin-based stuff. (And many gels, at least in my opinion, have a better mouthfeel when more solid than liquid.)
Gelatine melts at a lower temperature and has a much better mouthfeel for most of these traditional recipes. It is creamy and adds body to a stock or sauce. Agar is brittle and requires a higher temperature to set. Agar would be a good choice for something where you want it to stay in a particular shape, but it is much more of a one-trick pony when it comes to cooking. Each can act as a poor man's version of the other, but neither really hits the same features as the other.
Agar is great for a gel, especially one you want to stand up to a bit of heat and remain stable at room temp, and I would always reach for it instead of gelatine when doing most desserts or pastry work. OTOH I would only use it in a sauce if I needed to accommodate a vegan guest.
> Why this obsession with gelatin? What am I missing?
Probably just tradition. It's pretty easy to "accidentally" make gelatin when making a broth, and intentionally making it only requires heat and bones, which are essentially pure waste. Whereas agar is a product that you have to buy in a store, and wasn't even available in the West until somewhat recently.
Of course, everybody just buys gelatin in the stores these days, and agar is almost as easy to find, but old recipes tend to be handed down for generations.
The article contains one possible clue: gelatin melts at body temperature. This implies dishes made with gelatin melt in the mouth like chocolate does, but I can't recall experiencing that (at least not to the extent of chocolate) when eating gelatin-based stuff. (And many gels, at least in my opinion, have a better mouthfeel when more solid than liquid.)
Agar is great for a gel, especially one you want to stand up to a bit of heat and remain stable at room temp, and I would always reach for it instead of gelatine when doing most desserts or pastry work. OTOH I would only use it in a sauce if I needed to accommodate a vegan guest.
Probably just tradition. It's pretty easy to "accidentally" make gelatin when making a broth, and intentionally making it only requires heat and bones, which are essentially pure waste. Whereas agar is a product that you have to buy in a store, and wasn't even available in the West until somewhat recently.
Of course, everybody just buys gelatin in the stores these days, and agar is almost as easy to find, but old recipes tend to be handed down for generations.
With our warming climate, I wonder if research is happening to develop heat-resistant agar, similar to coffee, cocoa, and rice.