Willpowder - Agar Agar

Carrageenan, the hydrocolloid with the greatest number of repeated letters that I have come across, is proving to be a quite handy addition to the WillPowder pantry.

There are several Carrageenans derived from seaweed, which vary in chemical structure and properties. Willpowder is bringing you the finest quality Iota and Kappa Carrageenan, which have the greatest number of applications in both fine dining, and industrial food production.

The main characteristics of Iota and Kappa are as follows:
Iota forms an elastic gel in conjunction with calcium salts, like calcium chloride, calcium lactate, and calcium lactate gluconate.
Iota forms a clear gel sans syneresis (or weeping).
Iota forms a stable gel for freeze/thaw purposes.

Kappa forms a strong, rigid gel in conjunction with potassium salts.
Kappa forms a brittle gel in conjunction with calcium salts, as listed above.
Though kappa can be partly cloudy with a chance of meatballs, it tends to be clear when used with a sugar or syrup base.
Similar to George Harrison’s contribution to The White Album, Kappa gels can gently weep.

Both Iota and Kappa are found in red seaweeds, and their concentration varies according to species of seaweed used. Carrageenan is extracted from the seaweed into a watery medium, the seaweed is filtered out, and like a ship formerly lost at sea, the Carrageenan is recovered. Willpowder will spare you the details of the extraction process, but the Willpowder A-team will gladly point you towards an informative link, should you require further education.

Usage notes:
Both kappa and iota form gels with potassium and calcium salts, but they have preferred partners.
Both kappa and iota in solution must be heated above 60 degrees Centigrade.

Kappa forms a gel with as little as .5% dosage in water, and as little as .2% with milk, or alternative calcium target rich environments.

Kappa provides the strongest gel of in all the Carrageenan world, stronger yet with potassium, but as noted above, strong gels also cry.

Kappa can be super charged while flirting with a locust bean gum, which allows the kappa amount to be reduced to 1/3 of the concentration otherwise required, providing a resilient gel which does not bleed, weep, or undergo syneresis.

I wanted to find several applications and uses for these versatile products, based on their function and the forms I desired; so you will find, (1) a thickened cream, (a paper from same), (2) a film, (a fluid gel from same), and (3) a light gel, (and stabilized sorbet from same), with just three different handy ratios to remember.