Finding Agar-Agar (Without Spending an Arm and a Leg)
I've found a lot of recipes that call for Agar (or Agar-Agar -- I'm assuming they're the same thing?) but I can't find it for a reasonable price online. Anyone have any hints or suggestions?
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8 Comments:
I would try checking any local Asian grocers, and health food stores. The former because it is a traditional ingredient in Asian cuisines, and the latter because agar is often used as a vegetarian substitute for gelatin.
Nicholas H at 10:57PM on 01/26/08
my mom gets them at asian stores. they come in pink packets, like yeast.
chlamers at 12:14AM on 01/27/08
You can also buy agar at Whole Foods. Online, prices are good at Bulk Foods.
dailybrownie at 2:05AM on 01/27/08
I was the manager of a health foods store and we sold agar agar, which really wasn't expensive at all. And yes, also at the Asian stores, where most everything is cheap. I have also seen it at Whole Foods, in the Asian section w/ the other seaweed products.
mrsbao at 8:58AM on 01/27/08
Look it up in the Asian section of your local healthfood store. I have also bought it at Whole Foods - it's next to the seeweeds, kombu, etc. I don;t know where you live, but if I can find it here in Puerto Rico, you should have no problems finding it in the US.
I have a bad from Eden Foods here. It's royal blue color and it cost me about $5 a bag. Recipes usually call for small amounts, so it will last you for a few uses.
I don't know why you need agar agar, but you can try this Strawberry Kanten recipe - delicious and uses agar agar as a thickener...
Madelyn
KarmaFree Cooking
MadelynRodriguez at 9:45AM on 01/27/08
Kosher sections often have it, too, if they're large enough, or, of course, a kosher market.
lemons at 11:02AM on 01/27/08
Asian markets for cheap, definitely.
It also often goes under the moniker "Chinese gelatin", that's how much it's used in Asian cooking ^_^;
You can find it most commonly in solid pieces, a lot like sheet gelatin, only a bit wrinklier in appearance. Break it up into pieces and dissolve it over low heat with a little water in a saucepan.
You can find powdered agar agar, sometimes too.
It's gonna be a LOT cheaper than at Whole Foods, too (I checked Whole Foods for powdered agar...a tiny, dubious looking packet for more money than I was willing to spend).
fuuchan at 9:44PM on 01/27/08
Thanks so much, everyone!
Skythe at 4:40PM on 01/30/08