Kappa Carrageenan

What is it?
Kappa Carrageenan is a vegetarian gelling agent extracted from a type of red seaweed that grows off the Irish coast. It creates a firm, transparent gel with a softer mouth feel than Agar. It will set between 30-60°C and, once set, can be heated to 70-80°C before melting. It is sensitive to acid and will not gel a solution with a pH less than 4.

What can I make with it?

Soft / Hot Jelly

Soft / Hot Spaghetti

How do I use it?
For all preparations:

1) Dissolve the Kappa Carrageenan with the liquid preferably using an immersion blender and place into a saucepan

2) Heat the mixture to 80°C, stirring all the time

3) Take it off the heat and allow it to cool down for 2-3 minutes

4) Pour the mixture into your mould and allow to set

To serve hot:

Pre-heat the oven to 80°C. Place the jellies on a baking tray and leave in the oven for 15-20 minutes until heated through (do not let them reach 70°C or they may melt). Serve immediately.

Soft Ribena Jelly

Ingredients:

80 ml Ribena Blackcurrant Cordial

80ml Water

1/2 tsp Kappa Carrageenan (=1.6 g)

To make: follow steps 1-4 above

To store: Cold jelly can be stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours

mm.co.uk tip:

- remove the mixture from the heat before it boils to prevent bubbles in your jelly

- Kappa Carrageenan jelly will set at room temperature, it does not need to be refrigerated

- make edible ice cubes that won’t dilute your drink by placing jelly cubes in the freezer

Soft Ribena Spaghetti

Ingredients:

80 ml Ribena Blackcurrant Cordial

80ml Water

1 tsp Kappa Carrageenan (=3.1 g)

To make: follow steps 1-3 above

4) Fill a syringe with the hot jelly and inject it into a tube. Make sure the tube is completely full and be careful not to inject any air bubbles

5) Submerge the spaghetti tube completely in a bowl of iced water. Allow 10-15 minutes to set (the colder the water, the less time it will take to set)

6) Fill the syringe with water and inject it into the tube to expel the spaghetti

To store: Cold spaghetti can be stored in the fridge for up to 24 hours

mm.co.uk tip:

- if the jelly in the saucepan begins to set while your spaghetti is setting, heat it up to 80°C and it will revert to a liquid

- your spaghetti can also be served hot; follow the steps above

- handle with care – soft spaghetti will break easily!