agar

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agar Dried extracts from various seaweeds, including Gelidium and Gracilaria spp. It is a partially soluble non‐starch polysaccharide, composed of galactose units. It swells with water to form a gel, and is used in soups, jellies, ice‐cream, and meat products. It is also used as the basis of bacteriological culture media, as an adhesive, for sizing silk, and as a stabilizer for emulsions. Also called agar‐agar, Macassar gum, vegetable gelatine.

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