Agar Agar Industry @ a
Glance
The natural gelling agent Agar-Agar
is extracted from the Gelidium and Gracilaria seaweeds (bot. fam.
Rhodophyceae). Gelidium is mostly found on the Atlantic coast of Southern
Morocco, Spain, Portugal and France while Gracilaria grows on the coastline of
Chile, South Korea, Japan and Argentina.
Agar-Agar is soluble in hot
water. Agar solutions
are viscous and fluid and they jellify at room temperature, creating
thermoreversible
gels that melt again at 85±5 °C and reform
a gel on cooling down to 35±5 °C. This unique hysteresis offers many advantages
in food production
Agar Agar applications are in
Confectionery, Bakery, Dairy products, Pastry, Sauces & Dressings, Meat
Products, Spreads, Beverages
Modern day production of agar
involves an
extraction of the seaweed liquor under high pressure. The gel is then pressed to
eliminate free water and once in cake form is dried in large drying ovens.
Agar is widely used in
scientific, industrial, and medical
laboratories around the world as a “culture medium” for growing microorganisms,
such as bacteria, to test for infections | 
