"What are the Nutritional Benefits of Agar?"
Agar
Agar, scientifically known as agarose, also goes by the names agar-agar, jelly powder, bird's nest essence, ocean powder, and kanten. It possesses extremely useful and unique properties in the food industry. Agar is a polysaccharide extracted from seaweed and is one of the most widely used alginates globally. It finds applications in diverse sectors such as food industry, pharmaceutical industry, daily chemicals, and biotechnology. Agar significantly enhances food quality and elevates its grade, albeit at a premium price. Its key characteristics include coagulation, stability, and the ability to form complexes with certain substances, making it suitable as a thickening agent, coagulant, suspending agent, emulsifier, preservative, and stabilizer. It is widely utilized in the production of beverages like orange juice particles, jelly, ice cream, pastries, soft candies, canned foods, meat products, eight-treasure porridge, bird's nest soup, chilled dishes, and more.Agar also serves various purposes in the chemical, medical research, culture medium, and ointment base industries. As a gelatinous product derived from red algae such as Gelidium and Gracilaria, agar is a commonly used solidifier for microbial culture media. It is also employed in canned meat, fish, and poultry products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and dental treatments. It acts as a clarifier in brewing and winemaking, a thickening agent in ice cream, cakes, and salad dressings, and a lubricant in metal drawing processes.
Agar, made from algae, exists as translucent, invisible powder, flakes, or granules. It is primarily produced in Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and Russia. Agar is insoluble in cold water but can absorb up to 20 times its volume in water. It readily dissolves in boiling water and remains in a liquid state at 42°C (108°F) but coagulates into a firm jelly at 37°C. Agar is a constituent of cell walls, containing complex carbohydrates, calcium, and sulfates.
