Grape jelly from agar-agar. Berry jelly on agar

I can’t make an addition to the text, so I’m making a link to our archive here - interesting about agar - agar

AGAR-AGAR
Cooking.
To prepare a salad with agar-agar, the plates are soaked for 20-25 minutes in warm water, and then they are thrown back on a sieve and dried. The plates are separated from each other and cut into pieces. After that, agar-agar is mixed with other components of the salad.
For jelly, agar-agar powder or plates are dissolved in water over very low heat (about 10 minutes). Separately heat the milk with sugar and flavors, and then mix it with a solution of agar-agar. The resulting mixture is placed in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours. Usually, 300 ml of liquid is taken per teaspoon of agar-agar powder.
When acidic solutions of agar-agar are heated at high temperatures, hydrolytic cleavage can occur. With the correct addition of citric acid, acidity does not affect the process of gel formation. The mass prepared on agar-agar can be cooled to 60-70 gr. C, and only then acid and flavors should be added.
Agar-agar powder can be dissolved not only in water, but also in other liquids, for example, non-acidic fruit juice, broth. The mixture is allowed to swell, then the liquid is brought to a boil, stirring constantly, until the powder is completely dissolved. Then put the desired additives and finally cool the dish at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Agar is an excellent gelling agent, especially popular with vegetarians who use it instead of gelatin.
The algae that produce agar-agar are extremely rich in iodine, calcium, iron and other valuable substances and microelements.
The swelling substance of agar does not decompose in the intestine, as it passes through it very quickly. The action of agar has a mild laxative effect and is based on the fact that, when it swells, it significantly increases in volume, fills a large intestinal space and thereby stimulates peristalsis. Agar owes its qualities to the high content of coarse fiber in it. Agar-agar removes toxins and toxins from the body, removes harmful substances from the liver, improving its functioning.

Storage
Agar-agar, both in plates and in powder, is stored in a cool, dry place for an almost unlimited time.
The gelling properties of agar can vary, so it's best to check in practice how much agar you bought should be put in. As you know, agar-agar hardens quickly and therefore, before cooling the entire mixture, place a teaspoon with a small amount of the mixture in the freezer for half a minute. If the mixture is frozen, agar is enough, if not, you need to add more: dissolve the powder in a small amount of liquid and add to the total mixture
If interested, I have a proven recipe for agar soufflé cake.

Hello dear readers! I haven't written anything for a long time, right?.. From the very beginning, let me express my gratitude to those who, even during my "absence", continue to leave comments, ask questions and share their opinions. This is really important and thank you for that!

When there is neither inspiration nor desire to publish new articles, each feedback received is not only support, but also a reminder that ideas dream of becoming someone's gift 🙂 And in the last two weeks I have been so fascinated by making jelly and I have come up with so many delicious recipes I just can't tell you about my findings!

There were two reasons for this:

1. Minimizing heat treatment. That is, I simply steamed the agar powder with boiling water:

2. No plate. That is, there is a stove in my kitchen, but there is a dehydrator on it, and disassembling this bulky structure is quite problematic:

And so, about a month ago, the dehydrator broke down safely (by the way, does anyone know where and how to fix it?) ... And two weeks ago it dawned on me that now I can finally try out the recipe for making jelly on agar proposed by Natalia Bronnikova:

The result, to be honest, exceeded all my expectations! In such desserts there is nothing but delicious taste, delicate texture, beauty, health benefits and very few calories! And the options, varieties, shapes and tastes of jelly desserts simply cannot be counted ... In general, at the moment, jelly is definitely one of my favorite live treats!

Why, despite the boiling of agar, can such jellies be classified as living cuisine dishes?

1. The proposed technology does not allow overheating fruit puree and preserves the maximum possible amount of useful substances. That is, we use high temperature only to dissolve the agar, without affecting the fruit and berry mixtures.

2. Useful properties of agar are described in the article:

• (if you haven't read it, I recommend it)

In short, agar is an excellent sorbent and nutrient medium for beneficial microflora, and cleansing the intestines and stimulating the development of healthy microflora are one of the main arguments in favor of eating live food.

In addition, short boiling allows the agar to dissolve completely, which increases the amount of finished jelly by at least 2.5 times with the same amount of dry agar powder. Plus, boiling really improves the flavor of the jelly.

How to make jelly: technology

Despite the fact that the technology for making jelly is already described in the recipe for jelly sweets from Natalia, and I made the appropriate additions to my article on the beneficial properties of agar, I will briefly repeat:

1. In a suitable deep saucepan, soak the agar powder in clean cold water for at least 1 hour:

In principle, you don’t need to soak the agar, but then, for better dissolution, you will have to boil the solution longer, so I always soak, sometimes even leaving it all night.

2. Bring the agar solution to a boil and, with constant stirring, boil for 30 seconds - 1 minute:

In the process, foam will form and the solution will begin to thicken - therefore it is necessary to stir. Boiling time, as I said, depends on the soaking time. If I leave the solution overnight, 30 seconds is enough, if I soak it for an hour, I boil it for 1 minute.

3. Remove the boiled solution from heat and leave to cool to a temperature of 50-80C. At this time, it is just convenient to make fruit and berry puree.

ATTENTION: agar begins to gel already at a temperature of 40C, so it should not be cooled too much. You don't have to worry about the high temperature. If you are filling from fruits and berries at room temperature, then the agar should be cooled to 50-60C, if from frozen berries, you can cool the solution only to 60-80C. When mixing, the temperature will even out to about 40-45C.

4. With constant rapid stirring, pour the prepared puree into the agar solution (not vice versa!) And pour into suitable forms.

5. Leave the jelly to cool at room temperature (a miracle will happen here and the previously completely liquid mixture will solidify in jelly), and then put the finished jelly in the refrigerator to cool (it tastes better).

How to make jelly: proportions

One way or another, here you will have to focus on your taste, depending on what density of jelly you prefer. But if you have never made jelly on agar before, then start your experiments with the proportions I suggested. And when your first jelly is ready, you can figure out how to further adjust its density.

• agar-agar powder - 1 tbsp. without a slide
• cold water for soaking - 500 ml
• fruit mixture - 1000 ml

That's how much jelly is obtained from 1 tbsp. agar:

For a smaller volume of jelly, the proportions are:

• agar-agar powder - 1 tsp without a slide
• cold water for soaking - 250 ml
• fruit mix - 250 ml

So much jelly is obtained from 1 tsp. agar:

How to make jelly: recipes

Knowing the technology and proportions for making jelly, it remains only to choose the fruit and berry filling, and here, as you understand, there are no options and combinations to count. In the most general form, "fillings" for jelly can be divided as follows:

• transparent (use only fruit juice or clear aqueous solutions)
• transparent with whole berries or large pieces of fruit
• dense (use fruit and berry smoothies)
• dense with whole berries or large pieces of fruit

I always use honey for sweetening. The only condition is to prepare the fruit and berry filling, taking into account the fact that in the jelly the original taste will be diluted with agar solution. That is, it is better to always make the “stuffing” a little more concentrated.

If you didn’t get such jelly dishes before, now you definitely don’t have to worry about the result 🙂

How to make layered jelly

There is nothing complicated here either, but, you know, if you want frills, you will have to do the same steps several times - depending on the intended number of multi-colored layers:

1. Make one kind of jelly and pour the mixture into suitable molds up to a certain level.

2. Leave at room temperature and soak a new portion of agar (the jelly will already harden during soaking).

3. Prepare a new jelly and pour it over the previous layer. Repeat the process as many times as required.

That, in fact, is all - now you are privy to all the subtleties and secrets of making agar jelly 🙂 And if you follow the technology exactly, observing the proportions, you will get a breathtaking jelly the first time - a 100% guarantee!

Good luck experimenting and bon appetit!

Calories: Not specified
Cooking time: 200 min

To prepare such a diet dessert, we need:
- agar-agar (I have it in strips, but it can also be in powder),
- any fruit (in my case, canned pineapple),
- fruit juice without sugar.
- low-fat natural yogurt.
Also prepare a beautiful container, a silicone mold is better. I used a plastic ice cream container.

Recipe with photo step by step:

Whatever diet you use, everyone wants one thing - a good figure. The main guarantee of this is proper nutrition. And you want something sweet! What to do when cakes are full of calories? Try this dessert.
Let's start cooking.

This is what agar-agar looks like in strips. Unfortunately, I could not find agar-agar without dyes and had to buy this one with a bright green dye.

Pour fruit juice into a container. I had apple juice without sugar. Dilute with a little water and put in the microwave. Agar-agar dissolves in water at 90-100 degrees and freezes already at 30, that is, very quickly.

Put agar-agar into boiling juice, stir until completely dissolved. My juice turned emerald green after adding agar agar.

Pour about a third of our hot mixture into a separate container. This will be the yogurt layer.

Pour some natural fat-free yogurt into this part. We stir. It turns out such a mint color.

Cut fruits into small pieces. I chose canned pineapple since the dessert is so green that it was a beautiful combination of colors.

We lay out pieces of fruit beautifully on the bottom of the mold. The bottom will later be the top of the dessert, so to speak, its face. I conceived two yellow pineapple flowers, but when I turned the dessert over, this layer strongly stuck to the bottom and broke. I recommend a silicone mold, you can bend it and carefully remove the dessert.

Pour the fruit pattern with half the juice with agar-agar. It immediately starts to freeze.

After making sure that the first layer is strong enough, carefully pour half the volume of the yogurt layer. Put in the refrigerator until cold.

The yogurt layer will take longer to set, so by the time you are ready to pour the next clear layer, it will have had time to harden. Put it in the microwave and heat it up a little so that it becomes liquid again.
Pour the leftovers into the mold and lay out the fruit now arbitrarily.

The layer freezes before our eyes. You can pour the second half of the yogurt layer and send it to freeze in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

After 2-3 hours, the dessert will be ready. It remains only to put it on a plate and decorate.
If you used a plastic container, then it is best to put it in hot water for a few minutes, the agar-agar will melt on the sides and you can easily fish out the dessert on a plate by simply turning the mold over.
However, apparently I did not hold enough in the water and the last layer, the most beautiful with daisies, broke.

We decorate with fruits. Diet fruit and yogurt jelly from agar-agar is ready! We invite you to the table - after all

JELLY FROM BERRIES ON AGAR

Most often, jelly is prepared in two ways - on gelatin or on agar-agar (or simply "agar"). Gelatin is a protein product of animal origin. It is made from bones, cartilage and tendons of animals. And agar-agar is a completely vegetable product obtained by processing seaweed. Agar is also considered a very useful product! All high-quality confectionery products (marmalades, soufflés, marshmallows, jelly ...) are made from agar, and not from gelatin. But I believe that both gelatin and agar-agar have the right to be in our diet.

We will need:

• 1 liter cold water
• 3 tablespoons of agar
• 600 gr not very sour berries (here I have frozen cherries)
• 100 gr granulated sugar

We dilute the agar-agar in water and let it stand for about 15 minutes. And at this time we measure the sugar and prepare the berries.

Then we put the dissolved agar (turbid slurry) on the stove, pour sugar into it and be sure to stir.

When the sugar has dissolved, add the berries and stir vigorously, especially if the berry, as in this case, is from the freezer. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly!

Remove from stove and pour hot into molds. The height of the jelly, i.e. the level of pouring this still berry syrup 🙂, determine as you wish.

Agar jelly can be left to solidify at room temperature. It becomes strong as soon as it cools down to 30-40 degrees. But I always prepare it in advance in the evening and take it out to a cool place until the morning or put it in the refrigerator when it has cooled down a bit. Such jelly “pops out” from the mold quite easily when compared with jelly on gelatin.

Our jelly is ready! It's pretty solid and doesn't wobble too much.

BON APPETIT!

PS: I would like to add that it is not worth the risk and prepare such a jelly from very sour berries, because. agar is very sensitive to acidity and may not set. I didn’t believe it and tried to make such a cranberry jelly, but I got a very tasty jelly 🙂

Agar-agar, a vegetable analogue of gelatin, has long ceased to be perceived as exotic. Now you can buy it not only in specialized stores for confectioners, but also in the most ordinary supermarkets. And yet, for many, agar-agar is still a curiosity. How to make jelly with agar-agar? The recipe will most likely seem easier to you than the traditional gelatin counterpart. Unlike gelatin, this plant product (agar-agar is made from seaweed) is easily soaked and dissolves well, forming a homogeneous gelatinous mass. If we compare desserts with the addition of agar-agar and gelatin, then there are significant differences. A gourmet versed in these matters will immediately determine which gelling agent has been added. The structure of jelly with agar-agar is more brittle, not so viscous, such a dessert does not tremble like gelatin. Dishes with the addition of agar-agar have a slight peculiar aftertaste. And one more significant and very useful difference is that frozen jelly with agar-agar does not “melt” and does not flow when heated, which is very convenient if the dessert has to be out of the refrigerator for quite a long time. It is no coincidence that agar-agar was widely used in the Soviet confectionery industry. Marshmallows, marshmallows, Bird's Milk cake, jelly marmalade were made on it. Now a cheap substitute is mainly used, which is probably why the taste of confectionery is so far from the pre-perestroika originals. We will make berry jelly with agar-agar. I used fresh strawberries, but you can use absolutely any berries, fresh or frozen.

Prepare foods in the following quantities:

• Fresh berries - 300 g
• Agar-agar - 3 g
• Granulated sugar - 180 g
• Pure water - 350 ml

How to make jelly with agar agar

First of all, you need to prepare the berries - remove all the stalks from the strawberries, rinse the berries thoroughly under running water, put the strawberries in a colander or strainer, let the water drain. Meanwhile, 3 g of agar-agar (this is a full teaspoon without a large slide) pour 250 ml of water, mix and leave aside.

Cut some of the berries into slices and put on the bottom of the cups or molds in which the jelly will be served. The remaining berries, if they are large, then also cut, small ones can be left whole. Put strawberries in a saucepan, pour in 100 ml of water, add sugar and put on medium heat. When the berries boil with sugar, then reduce the heat and boil for about 5 minutes over low heat, remove the berries in syrup from the heat, let stand for 10 minutes.

The resulting syrup now needs to be separated from the berries with a strainer. Berries will no longer be needed, but on the basis of syrup we will continue to prepare jelly.

Add agar-agar soaked in water to the syrup, mix, put on fire, bring to a boil and cool. Barely warm syrup, pour the berries, previously laid out in cups. Only berries! Do not fill the glass completely! To prevent strawberry slices from floating up, the berries must first be fixed by pouring them with a small amount of syrup with agar-agar.

Put the cups in the refrigerator for 5 minutes, and keep the syrup in a warm place so that it does not freeze ahead of time. As soon as the berries harden, immediately fill the entire glass with syrup completely and put it in the refrigerator again for about 20-25 minutes until the jelly is completely solidified.

Decorate the finished dessert to your taste with slices of berries, mint leaves or lemon balm.