Agar Agar Spaghetti Recipe- Molecular Gastronomy Recipes

Agar spaghetti is a modern gastronomical creation. Agar Agar is a vegetarian gelatin substitute produced from a variety of seaweed vegetation. Agar, or agar agar, is a gelling agent extracted from red algae. It is commonly used to stabilize foams and to thicken or gel liquids. It is relatively easy to work with and a good starting point for modernist cooking. Extruding the agar jelly from the tube is fun and an activity that can be shared by the whole family.

This recipe consists of a spaghetto or noodle usually about 3 mm to 5 mm thick and 2 m long made of a flavored liquid jellified with agar agar (agar agar jellification). The agar agar spaghetti can be served cold or hot.

Serves: 5

INGREDIENTS:  (Agar Spaghetti Kit)

3 g agar–agar powder
250 g (1 cup) fruit juice
40 g white sugar
Syringe
Silicone tube

For each serving you’ll need a tube of about 2 m (6 ft) in length and with an inside diameter of 3 mm to 5 mm. Make sure you find a syringe with a nozzle that fits tightly in the tube and with a capacity of 40 ml or more. You can get the silicone tubes and syringe from Amazon.com or any store.


NOTE: YOU CAN USE ANY FRUIT JUICE, FOR EXAMPLE, ORANGE, GRAPE, APPLE, CRANBERRY, STRAWBERRY, AND SO FORTH. YOU CAN ALSO USE CHICKEN STOCK, COFFEE, TEA WITH MILK OR BACON-INFUSED.


PREPARATION PROCEDURE:

The agar preparation usually has a concentration of agar agar of about 1.6% to obtain a very firm jelly that is flexible but at the same time strong enough to hold its spaghetti shape without breaking when handled carefully. Agar agar needs to be heated to boil for jelling and sets at a temperature of about 35-45 ˚C (95-113 ˚F). 

Agar agar is very versatile and can be used with flavored liquids with high concentrations of salt, sugar, alcohol, acid and proteases.


1) Mix fruit juice and agar–agar well in a pan, and heat at 90–100ºC until completely dissolved.

2) Add white sugar to the mixture in the pan and heat. When the sugar is dissolved, remove pan from heat.

3) Attach silicone tube to a syringe, and fill it with the agar solution.

4) Remove the silicone tube from the syringe, and put it in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes.

5) Fill the syringe with air, attach the cold tube with the set agar jelly and extrude the jelly. When possible expel directly onto the serving dish. Repeat as many times as tubes you have or required spaghetti. 

6) Once you have made all your noodles, it's plate them up, share with family or friends and eat them.

pH of grape juice agar spaghetti = 3.04

pH of orange juice agar spaghetti = 3.80

Serving Suggestion: 

Coat with maple syrup, and sprinkle with salt.

If you love meat, you can prepare a regular spaghetti sauce. Your limit is your imagination.


Quick Cooking Tips

I recommend you get one tube for each serving and not plan to reuse the tube for each serving since you’ll have to do it very fast to prepare all the spaghetti before the agar agar preparation sets in the pot. It is not worth the trouble trying to use the same tube for all servings. Silicone tubes are more expensive than PVC tubes but they will provide you with a tighter seal when you connect them to the syringe.


If you have time, next time you should try this... Quick and Easy Carbonated Fruit Recipe


What Related Video: Fruit Spaghetti

What is Agar?

Agar (pronounced "ah-gər") or agar-agar is a gelatinous substance, obtained from algae and discovered in the late 1650s or early 1660s by Minoya Tarozaemon in Japan, where it is called Kanten.

Agar is derived from the polysaccharide agarose, which forms the supporting structure in the cell walls of certain species of algae, and which is released on boiling. These algae are known as agarophytes and belong to the Rhodophyta (red algae) phylum. Agar is actually the resulting mixture of two components: the linear polysaccharide agarose, and a heterogeneous mixture of smaller molecules called agaropectin.


What are the Differences Between Agar Agar and Gelatin

Agar agar has several advantages over the traditional gelatin, namely:

1) It has no taste, no odor and no color.

2) Agar agar gives a sensation of feeling full, which can aid dieting.

3) It is derived from a plant source rather than an animal source, meaning that it is suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets, and also for diets with restrictions for moral, ethical, and religious reasons.

4) It is used as a digestive aid by some people, to ease stomach upsets.

5) It sets more firmly than gelatin.

6) Agar agar is able to set at room temperature; it also stays in jelly form even as the temperature rises.


What are the Other Culinary Uses of Agar?

Agar-agar is a natural vegetable gelatin counterpart. White and semi-translucent, it is sold in packages as washed and dried strips or in powdered form. It can be used to make jellies, puddings, and custards. For making jelly, it is boiled in water until the solids dissolve. Sweetener, flavoring, coloring, fruit or vegetables are then added and the liquid is poured into molds to be served as desserts and vegetable aspics, or incorporated with other desserts, such as a jelly layer in a cake.

Agar-agar is approximately 80% fiber, so it can serve as an intestinal regulator. Its bulk quality is behind one of the latest fad diets in Asia, the kanten (the Japanese word for agar-agar diet. Once ingested, kanten triples in size and absorbs water. This results in the consumers feeling more full. This diet has recently received some press coverage in the United States as well. The diet has shown promise in obesity studies.

One use of agar in Japanese cuisine (Wagashi) is anmitsu, a dessert made of small cubes of agar jelly and served in a bowl with various fruits or other ingredients. It is also the main ingredient in mizu yōkan, another popular Japanese food.

In Philippine cuisine, it is used to make the jelly bars in the various gulaman refreshments or desserts such as sago gulaman, buko pandan, agar flan, halo-halo, and the black and red gulaman used in various fruit salads.

In Vietnamese cuisine, jellies made of flavored layers of agar agar, called thạch, are a popular dessert, and are often made in ornate molds for special occasions. 

In Indian cuisine, agar agar is known as "China grass" and is used for making desserts. 

In Burmese cuisine, a sweet jelly known as kyauk kyaw is made from agar.

In Russia, it is used in addition or as a replacement to pectin in jams and marmalades, as a substitute to gelatin for its superior gelling properties, and as a strengthening ingredient in soufflés and custards. Another use of agar-agar is in ptich'ye moloko (bird's milk), a rich jellified custard (or soft meringue) used as a cake filling or chocolate-glazed as individual sweets. Agar-agar may also be used as the gelling agent in gel clarification, a culinary technique used to clarify stocks, sauces, and other liquids.


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