Agar Agar: The Plant-Based Gelatin Alternative You Need to Try

Looking for a vegan alternative to gelatin? Agar Agar, derived from seaweed, creates firm gels for jellies, puddings, and plant-based desserts. Whether you're exploring vegan baking or need a powerful gelling agent, Agar is a must-have ingredient. Let’s dive into how it works and how you can use it in your recipes!

One of our most popular ingredients is agar agar. This product is made with one hundred percent naturally growing seaweed. It is vegan, non-GMO, allergen-free, gluten-free, and Kosher certified. It has an outstanding gel strength compared to most other brands offered, at 900 gm/cm2.

Agar or most often called agar agar is a gel-like substance, which comes from red algae. It is available in bar, flake, and powder form. Cape Crystal offer the powdered form as it is easier to use and the least expensive of the three forms available.

You can mix it with water and simmer it to act as a thickener for various sauces, soups, deserts, and many more. Furthermore, agar agar is also a great substitute for gelatin as it is flavorless, plant-based and is suitable for most of the diet plans. Moreover, it possesses higher melting point than that
of gelatin.

Agar agar is also rich in various nutritional benefits. It is low in calories, yet high in iron, folate, magnesium, manganese, and fiber. It may also be beneficial in improving the digestive health, aid in weight loss and keep the blood sugar levels in check.

Use this amazing ingredient for making vegan cheese and numerous deserts. Use it to thicken foods without animal ingredients, sugar or starch. You can download our recipe book recipe book of 50 amazing agar agar recipes. It just scratches the surface of all the wonderful and tasty recipes agar agar can give
you.

We at Cape Crystal Brands hope you enjoy it. Perhaps you might like to offer us recipes of your own that we could add to a future cookbook. We would also appreciate photographs of the dishes you make using these terrific recipes.

Thank you and happy cooking! We are waiting to hear from you.

About the Author Ed is the founder of Cape Crystal Brands, editor of the Beginner’s Guide to Hydrocolloids, and a passionate advocate for making food science accessible to all. Discover premium ingredients, expert resources, and free formulation tools at capecrystalbrands.com/tools. — Ed