Team:Heidelberg/Excellence


Special Excellence





Molecular GASTROnomy for your GASTROintestinal tract

As discussed in the overview of our project, one of the enzymes we investigated as a potential selection advantage is ß-agarase. It degrades agar, a mixture of polysaccharides found in red algae. Using agar as a selection agent is very convenient because it is already an ingredient used in food, on the one hand as a vegan gelatin substitution, but on the other hand it is a common ingredient in the traditional cuisine of various cultures in Asia.
For this reason, we have experimented with agar in food and have come up with four tasty recipes. One is for agar gummy bears, two for cakes, one for cocoa jelly and last but not least, we present to you: lemon cream slices. All are made with ingredients found in most grocery stores. The agar powder can be found in the baking ingredients aisle.

Agar gummy bears

Who doesn’t like gummy bears? They are a classic type of candy from your childhood, but this gummy candy recipe is not only for kids. And you don’t need gelatine for it, so they are even suitable for vegans.

Ingredients:

    150 mL juice
    2 tablespoons sugar, honey or agave syrup
    2.5 g agar powder or 7-8 g 30% agar powder
    gummy bear mold or ice cube tray

Mix agar powder, juice and sugar and keep the solution at 100 °C for 3-5 min in a small pot. Fill the mixture into the mold. A syringe works best, but using spoons works as well. Let the agar cure for 30 minutes at 4 °C before removing the gummy treats from the mold.
Variation: For firmer gummy bears use more agar powder. They won’t have the same consistency as store bought gummy bears as agar doesn’t have the chewiness of gelatine.

Figure 1: Agar gummy bears. We used three types of juice: apple and pear juice, orange juice and grape juice.

Agar cream cheese cake

When you think about great desserts that may also taste good to children, what about combining biscuits, butter, cream cheese and a tiny bit of chocolate and the result will be an attractive dessert with a lot of agar.

Ingredients:

    2x 15 g 30% agar powder
    36 Ladyfinger biscuit
    125 g Butter (or margarine as vegan alternative)
    100 ml Water
    50 g Sugar
    300 g Cream cheese
    3x 8 g Vanilla sugar
    500 g Cream
    Juice and zest of 2 lemons
    200 g Dark chocolate

Grid the ladyfingers and mix with melted butter. Put the mixture into your 26 cm diameter baking form and press the crumbs onto the bottom. Melt the chocolate and spread them onto the crumble. Now, mix the cream cheese with vanilla sugar, sugar and the lemon zest. Whip the cream until stiff. Heat the water and agar in a pod to 100°C for two minutes then mix all three parts together and fill them on the chocolate layer. Incubate the cake for at least 3 hours at 4°C then the cake is ready to use.

Figure 2: Agar cream cheese cake. There can be seen three layers. The lowest are the butter mixed Löffelbiskuit, then there is a thin layer of chocolate and finally the agar cream cheese and lemon.

Cocoa jelly

This recipe is a fusion between Japanese coffee jelly and hot chocolate. This fusion food looks like hot chocolate or mousse au chocolat, but it has the texture of jelly. This recipe is for two servings.

Ingredients:

    5 teaspoons cocoa powder (sweetened or unsweetened) or 40 g of dark chocolate
    optional: sugar, honey or agave syrup
    200 mL milk or vegan alternative
    3.5 g agar powder or 10 g 30% agar powder
    50 mL cream or vegan alternative
    optional: fruit, cookie crumbs and cinnamon for serving

Start by making hot chocolate as usual by either combining the milk and cacao powder or milk and chocolate and heating everything up. Use sugar or honey to sweeten it to your taste. Stir while heating everything up and add the agar powder and cook for 3-5 minutes until it is dissolved. Fill the solution into two glasses and let the agar cure at 4 °C for at least 30 minutes. When the agar has set, whip the cream and add it to the glasses. Decorate it or leave it plain then serve.
Variation: Use a square container and let the cocoa jelly cure in it. After it has set, cut the jelly into cubes and serve with cream or vanilla sauce.

Figure 3: Cocoa jelly. This dessert is something new and combines one of your favorite hot beverages with the texture of jello. The uneven line of the cocoa jelly was from too much movement when it was transferred to the fridge. To prevent this let the agar cure at room temperature for the first ten minutes and transfer it to the fridge afterwards.

Lemon cream slices

While originally being from Italy, the whole world enjoys the refreshing taste of the slightly sour cream slice which is enclosed by two slices of sponge cake.

Ingredients:

Sponge Cake:
    4 eggs
    150 g sugar
    1 pck vannila sugar
    100 g flour
    100 g food starch
    1 pinch of salt
    1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    1 tablespoon of lemon zest
Lemon Cream
    400 mL of heavy cream
    60g of powdered sugar
    3.5 g agar powder or 10 g 30% agar powder
    3 to 4 tablespoons of lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)
    1 to 2 tablespoons of Limoncello (optional)

Start by separating the egg yolks and the egg whites. Whisk the egg whites with the water while adding the sugar and vanilla sugar until firm. Afterwards add the lemon zest to the egg yolks and whisk them for a short time as well. Now, fold the mix into the firm egg whites. Do the same with the mix of flour, food starch, salt the baking powder. Bake the sponge cake at 200°C for approximately 15min. After the sponge cake finished baking immediately topple the cake from the baking tray and remove the baking paper. (Optional: You can cut the cake into a rectangle form so that it will look nicer). After the cake cooled down a bit cut it into two halves horizontally.
Cook the agar as described on the package and cool down for a bit before adding the lemon juice and Limoncello. While the agar mix cools down whisk the heavy cream while adding powdered sugar until firm. Now mix in the agar-lemon mix. Let it freeze in the refrigerator for at least 1 1/2 h.
At the end, simply spread the cream in between the two slices of sponge cake and enjoy this tasty treat.

Figure 4: Lemon cream slices. The sourness of the lemon and the sweet taste of the Limoncello and heavy cream become intertwined perfectly in order to create a slight sour taste while still leaving the refreshing taste of the Limoncello. Encompassed with the two slices of sponge cake it is not only a treat for the palate but also for the eyes.