What is Agar-agar?

A vegetarian alternative to gelatine, agar-agar is the jelly that results from boiling several kinds of seaweed together. It's dried and sold in powder form, flakes or bars and is also used as a stabiliser or thickener in many food products. It's available from the larger branches of most supermarkets as well as Asian grocers (it's frequently used in Asian cuisines). Useful if you want to make a jelly using pineapple, kiwi fruit or papaya, because these fruits break down the protein found in gelatine, preventing the jelly from setting.