What are gelatin, gelatin powder, and agar? What's the difference?

Many baking enthusiasts are asking me now. When making mousse, no-bake cheesecake, no-bake pudding and other desserts, gelatin flakes, gelatine powder, isinglass powder and gelatin powder are used. Some products, such as crystal osmanthus yokan, use agar. So what are the differences between these raw materials? How are they used? Can they be substituted for each other? Today I will talk to you about it.

In fact, these raw materials all play a role in solidification. They are very magical. They can condense liquid raw materials together into a smooth jelly. Let's get to know them first.

Let’s talk about gelatin first. Gelatine is transliterated from English Gelatine, also called isinglass or gelatin. It is a gelatin extracted from animal bones. Therefore, gelatin is not considered a vegetarian food. Gelatin is divided into two types: flakes and powder. The flaky ones are called gelatin flakes or isinglass flakes,Chicken Collagen and the powdery ones are called gelatine powder or isinglass powder. Although the states are different, the usage is similar. Now we know gelatin tablets = gelatine powder = isinglass powder = gelatin powder.

1.Gelatin tablets

Gelatine sheets must be stored in a dry place, otherwise they will stick to moisture. Before using gelatine tablets, they must be soaked in cold water until soft.Collagen Peptides Just add other ingredients according to the recipe steps. A few things to note are:

Gelatine sheets must be stored in a dry place,5g Gelatin Sheet otherwise they will stick to moisture and affect the coagulation ability.

It is best to use ice water for soaking the gelatine to prevent the gelatine from melting when the temperature rises.

Gelatine powder and gelatine tablets can be used interchangeably, and the dosage is the same (for example, 5 grams of gelatine tablets has the same coagulation power as 5 grams of gelatine powder).

When soaking soft gelatine powder, generally soak it in 3-4 times the weight of water. Because gelatine powder cannot be squeezed out of excess water after soaking like gelatine tablets, the water needs to be added to the appropriate amount at one time.

If you are making desserts such as fruit mousse, the enzymes in some fruits will break down protein (the main component of gelatine is protein), which will prevent the gelatine from solidifying. Such fruits include kiwi, papaya, etc. Before adding gelatine to such fruits, the fruits need to be boiled.

After soaking the gelatine, if it cannot be used immediately for some reason, please put it in the refrigerator and take it out when you need it.

2. Filament agar

After talking about gelatine, let’s look at agar-agar. What is shown in this picture is the most common agar - filament agar.

Agar is a coagulant made from seaweed, so it is a vegetarian food. Unlike gelatin, agar is much more insoluble. It needs to be added to boiling water and boiled for a few minutes to completely melt into the water. Once the temperature drops below 40°C, it will solidify immediately.

Agar also needs to be soaked before use. It will expand to 4 times its size after it is completely soaked. Agar-agar has a harder texture than gelatine and is often used to make yokan, cold cakes and other pastries.

After introducing these two coagulants, let’s answer a final question: “Can gelatin be replaced by agar?” Or “Can agar be replaced by gelatin?” The answer is: No.

After reading the introductions of the two, the reasons are easy to understand:

The freezing point is different. Agar will solidify below 40 degrees, while gelatine must be refrigerated to solidify. Gelatin is mostly used in desserts such as mousse and pudding. The mixing temperature is low. If agar-agar is used, it will solidify into lumps before it is mixed evenly (especially when mixed with whipped cream and the like), making it impossible to mix evenly. .

The taste is different. The texture of gelatine is softer and more elastic than agar-agar. If agar-agar is used in desserts such as mousse, the tender texture will be completely lost. Similarly, if gelatin is used in desserts such as yokan, the taste will lose its moistness.

Desserts made with agar can be placed directly at room temperature even in summer (for example, yokan in supermarkets is usually packaged and placed directly on the counter), while desserts made with gelatin need to be kept refrigerated to prevent them from melting.