Blended agar consistency/texture

Nicolas_59210

Am I the only one that finds agar-agar based sauces/fluid gels grainy?

Experimenting with different products (fruits, broth, vinegar, sauces) and agar concentrations (1-2%) and then blending with a hard blender always leaves me with a sauce/liquid gel that is not smooth. Is that a property of agar? has anyone had success making smooth sauces from agar? should I switch to a different gelling agent?

tshewman

I've never found agar to be grainy. I'm assuming after blending you are passing through a sieve as well? That said, I find I get a more luxurious mouthfeel with gellan (low acyl) for a pure fluid gel. I suspect it has to do with the bonding properties as agar tends to create a more brittle gel (esp at the 1-2% you describe). I compared this per Chris Young's suggestion using beet juice and there was definitely a difference in mothfeel. The agar was not grainy, but it was not as smooth as the gellan.