Agar-agar

An alternative term for agar, from the Malay word for the red seaweeds it comes from. Asian cooks have used it for centuries to set jellies, desserts and traditional sweets long before microbiologists adopted it for petri dishes. In trade the doubled name distinguishes the food ingredient — sold as strips, flakes or powder for vegetarian gelling — from its laboratory reputation. Whether labelled agar or agar-agar, it is the same seaweed extract: agarose and agaropectin that dissolve in hot water and set into firm, heat-tolerant gels.