Agar-Agar

Agar-agar, known as just agar in culinary circles, is a plant-based gelatin derived from seaweed. The white and semitranslucent vegetable gelatin is sold in flake, powder, bar, and strand form, and can be used in recipes as a stabilizing and thickening agent.

This jellylike substance is a mix of carbohydrates that have been extracted from red algae, a type of seaweed. Agar has several uses in addition to cooking, including as a filler in sizing paper and fabric, a clarifying agent in brewing, and certain scientific purposes. It is also known as China glass, China grass, China isinglass, Japanese kanten, Japanese gelatin, and dai choy goh, and is used in certain Japanese dessert recipes.

Agar-Agar gives a sensation of fullness, leading it to be used in some diet products. In Asia it is also sometimes used as a digestive remedy for upset stomachs. It can also be used as a laxative, or to thicken soups, sauces or preserves.