Comments on: Agar Clarification Made Stupid-Simple: Best Technique Yet

By: Tequila Tasting: Two Tequila Cocktails, with Class | Dining With Out-Laws

Tequila Tasting: Two Tequila Cocktails, with Class | Dining With Out-Laws — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:29:14 +0000

[...] For the lime clarification, I used Dave Arnold’s Agar Clarification Made Stupid-Simple technique found here. [...]

By: davearnold

davearnold — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 19:29:43 +0000

Howdy Kai,
I’ve never tried soy or coffee. Wonder why they didn’t work.

By: davearnold

davearnold — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:43:08 +0000

Thanks Stef.

By: Kai

Kai — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:11:25 +0000

Hi,

via “Ideas in food”, I stumbled across your detailed explanation about clarification, and had to try it out immediately. It worked liked a charm – half of the time:
Orange juice and zucchini soup yielded great results, while soy sauce and coffee didn’t work at all, the “clarified” fluid looked just like the original one. Guessing that it had nothing to do with the color , I wonder whether there is any explanation, or hint of which kind of substances are out of question. Or was it just bad luck, and a strange coincidence?

Thanks in advance for any input.
And, most of all, thanks for your great website.

By: Stef

Stef — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:36:23 +0000

I know this is an old post but I think I may know the reason why agar clarification doesn’t work with cloudy stocks and it’s not an interference between the agar + the gelatin but more because by not defrosting in the fridge the fat in the stock doesn’t stay solidified and some of it leaks into the final consomme. I did a few experiments and detailed the results here if you’re interested:

http://foodblog.stefanovozza.com/?p=77

By: Labwork 2: Two-Step Mojito & Ex Aqua | The Old Town Alchemy Co.

Labwork 2: Two-Step Mojito & Ex Aqua | The Old Town Alchemy Co. — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 01:11:32 +0000

[...] the past. Rather than re-using the slightly-MacGuyvered combination of Limoncello and citric acid, I used some agar-agar to clarify freshly squeezed lime juice. Clarified Lime Juice 300 grams freshly squeezed lime juice 100 grams water 2 grams [...]

By: davearnold

davearnold — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:41:22 +0000

It is difficult to hydrate agar in small amounts of liquid because of scorching/mixing/evaporation problems. Also, if you use a very small amount of liquid to hydrate, you have to make sure that the liquid you temper back into doesn’t drop too low in temperature. Unlike gelatin, agar sets very quickly once it drops below its gelation temperature.

By: Jose David

Jose David — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 12:54:31 +0000

Would be possible to use 50 grams of juice to boil to hydrate the agar instead 250 grams ? The taste would be better.

By: Roberto N.

Roberto N. — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:59:50 +0000

I just tried this on a mushroom broth, but result is cloudy, a few minutes later particles clumped together, will tweet the pic. Probably it was the coffee filter I used.

By: davearnold

davearnold — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 02:45:11 +0000

Hi Carey,
I doubt clarification would make a difference in a marinade.