Agar Powder

Agar is produced naturally from boiling particular types of carbohydrate in red algae where it forms the structural support for the cell walls. Our Agar powder is 100% Pure Food Grade which makes a great basis for making any type of nutrient Agar for growing bacteria and other microbiology studies.

How to Use Agar

Cooking
Agar is most commonly used in cooking as an alternative to gelatine. It can be used to make jelly, puddings and custard.

Normal Agar Jelly
To make jelly, add approximately 5g of Agar Powder to 550ml of water; then boil the solution for 1-5 mins and leave to cool. The jelly should set within a couple of hours.

Nutrient Agar Jelly (Luria Bertani Agar)
To make Luria Bertani jelly, you will need 10g of Tryptone, 5g of Yeast Extract, 10g of NaCl (Salt) and 1 litre of distilled or deionized water. Dissolve the Tryptone, Salt and Yeast Extract in the water, then add 15g of Agar Powder. Now heat the solution until boiling and simmer for 1-5 mins. If you require your jelly to be completely sterile, after boiling autoclave the solution at 15psi at between 120-124C for 15 mins. The solution can then be added to a pertri dish where it will set within a couple of hours.