Gelatin and agar are different. The difference between them lies in: different characteristics, different physical properties, and different uses.

1. Different morphological characteristics

The finished gelatin product is white or light yellow, translucent, slightly shiny flakes or powder; it is a colorless, odorless, non-volatile, Transparent hard amorphous substance.

Gelatin:

Agar:

Agar: dry body, white and bright color, clean and highly transparent, elastic, tough and fast.

2. Different physical properties

Gelatin: soluble in hot water, insoluble in cold water, but can slowly absorb water, expand and soften. Gelatin can absorb 5 to 10 times the weight of water. .

Gelatin solution can form a gel that has a certain hardness and cannot flow. When gelatin gel is stimulated by the environment, it will respond accordingly, that is, when the composition of the solution, pH value, ionic strength, temperature, light intensity, electric field and other stimulation signals change, or when it is stimulated by specific chemical substances, the gelatin gel will respond. The glue will mutate and show phase transition behavior.

Agar is insoluble in cold water and can absorb 20 times its own volume of water. Easily soluble in boiling water, the diluted solution remains liquid at 42°C (108°F), but solidifies into a tight jelly at 37°C. It needs to be heated to 95°C in water before it starts to melt, and the temperature of the melted solution needs to drop to 40°C before it starts to solidify, so it is the best coagulant for preparing solid culture media.

3. Different uses

Gelatin is divided into edible gelatin, medicinal gelatin, industrial gelatin, photographic gelatin, and leather gelatin according to different production raw materials, production methods, product quality, and product uses. Glue, bone glue.

Agar has a unique property that is extremely useful in applications in the food industry. It can be used as thickener, coagulant, suspending agent, emulsifier, preservative and stabilizer. It is widely used in the production of oranges and various beverages, jelly, ice cream, pastries, soft candies, canned food, meat products, eight-treasure porridge, white fungus and bird's nests, soups, cold foods, etc.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Gelatin

Baidu Encyclopedia-Agar