Agar-agar is an ingredient with multiple personalities. This seaweed extract, discovered by accident in Japan by an innkeeper in 1658, has a Malay name and plays a key role in both the kitchen and research laboratory. Agar-agar in Malay refers to the red algae (Gigartina and Gracilaria) from which it is produced.
A health food
The culinary uses of this quick change artist are equally diverse. As a vegetarian alternative to gelatine, agar-agar is the base ingredient of many a wobbly dessert in Asia. During Ramzan, China Grass puddings and drinks are commonly consumed by Muslims while breaking the fast (iftar).
MADURAI, TAMIL NADU, 26/05/2018. Seaweed being processed in a factory in Madurai on Saturday.Photo, G. Moorthy. ( For Metroplus )
In Tamil Nadu, where agar-agar is called kadalpaasi , Muslims make desserts that echo the State’s ancient maritime links with Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. The ability of China Grass to gel without refrigeration makes it ideal for the south Indian tropical weather.
Says E Gopalakrishnan who manufactures millet and herbal products in Tiruchi: “ Kadalpaasi is known to cool down the body, and was once served only to royals, because it was considered exotic,” he says.
It is far stronger than gelatine. In the south, China Grass puddings commonly feature tender coconut water, thickened milk or fruit juice. You can also create a healthier ice cream sundae or falooda by using grated China Grass fruit jelly in jazzy colours. The only rider: cooks must wait for the China Grass strands to dissolve completely in boiling water before they can mix the gel with other ingredients. The strands become a lumpy mess if stirred in the beginning.
Cottage industry
Agar-agar processing supplements the incomes of many fishing communities in the State. Gracilaria edulis, the most common type of agarophyte seaweed in Tamil Nadu, is harvested at low tide from places like Rameswaram, Tuticorin and Kilakarai, and sold to clusters of processing units in bigger cities. One such centre is Silaiman, (11 km from Madurai), that has units manufacturing around 750 kg of China Grass a day.
“Ramzan is the peak season for us, as 90% of the stock is sold to the food industry,” says A Bose, whose Silaiman-based company Srivas Chemicals has been processing China Grass since 1978. While once there were some 30 factories in Silaiman alone, many have dropped out due to financial pressures.
Bose, who is also the president of Agar and Alginate Manufacturers Welfare Association, Madurai, cites problems of competing with farmed seaweed from China and the imposition of Goods and Services Tax as the reason for this year’s slow trade.
Processing method
The seaweed is first washed and boiled in water for several hours until the agar dissolves. The resultant brownish goo is filtered through muslin cloths and poured into metal trays to set until firm. Once set, it is extruded through a finely-meshed metal sieve. The strands that are thus obtained are transferred to trays and frozen in cooling chambers for 20 to 24 hours.
After thawing and another wash, the agar-agar strands are bleached with a food grade chemical to pure white, and laid out in the sun to dry.
