Agar the Horrible Trivia Quiz

Answer: It dissolves readily in cold water

Agar is extracted from seaweed, usually a member of the genera Gelidium or Graciliara, of the phylum Rhodophyta (red algae). The polysaccharide agarose (made up of long chains of the simple sugar galactose) which forms part of the cell walls of these algae is extracted by boiling it. Some agaropectin is also found in the resulting solution, which can then be evaporated to leave a solid whitish residue. This is stored either in strips or, more commonly, as a powder.

Agar powder does not dissolve in hot water the way gelatine does, it requires the water to be actually boiling. It does, however, set at a higher temperature than does gelatine, making it particularly useful in areas where refrigeration is scarce. It also stays firm at room temperature, unlike gelatine products which often soften and begin to melt after too long a time out of refrigeration. Agar is used by vegetarians instead of gelatine because it is not an animal product, and its high fibre content has made it popular as a weight-reduction food - if powdered agar is eaten, it swells in the stomach to create a sensation of fullness.

Answer: Bean paste and sweet syrup

The agar jelly can be made using water to dissolve the agar, or you can use fruit liquid for a more tasty jelly. These are placed in a bowl with some anko, a sweet bean paste used in many Asian desserts which provides the an- part of the dish's name, and a selection of fruits.

The sweet dark syrup called kuromitsu (literally black honey, and responsible for the -mitsu part of the dish's name) is then poured over the jelly, and you're ready to tuck in!

Answer: Green tea powder

Powdered green tea, called matcha, is used to produce a variety of products, such as the very popular green tea ice cream. Yokan can have a range of additions to create interesting sweets, including chestnuts, figs, whole azuki beans, and various chopped fruits.

The sugar can be replaced with honey, brown sugar or molasses to provide a slightly different flavor. There is a type of yokan, called shio yokan, which includes a small amount of salt, but it is usually made with red bean paste.

Answer: Rum

Pandan leaves, commonly used in a number of southeast Asian cuisines, have a subtle flavor that is difficult to describe, and which infuses this drink. The gulaman is made into jelly by boiling it in water that includes pandan leaves; the sago or tapioca pearls are cooked in water containing sugar and pandan leaves; the syrup is prepared by boiling sugar and pandan leaves in water. To assemble the drink, you place the gulaman cubes and sago pearls in a tall glass, pour on a small amount of the syrup, then fill the glass with water, milk or fruit juice. Add plenty of ice cubes - the street name for the drink is palamig, which means cooling down, exactly what this drink does on a hot summer day.

Fresh pandan (also called screwpine) leaves are not available in many parts of the world. Sometimes frozen or dried leaves or pandan extract may be found, but if worst comes to worst a small amount of vanilla can provide a slightly different, but also pleasant, flavor.

Answer: Halo-halo

The Tagalog word halo-halo means mixed together, and that is just exactly what you get. The first layer of the dish has sweetened cooked beans (kidney and garbanzo are popular); gulaman (agar) cubes; fruits such as jackfruit, caramelized plantains, macapuno (a kind of coconut with a jelly-like consistency); and possibly some other ingredients such as tapioca, nata de coco (a jelly-like product made by fermenting coconut water), sweet potato, cheese or pinipig (flakes of immature glutinous rice). Once this layer has been covered with crushed ice, the topping is added.

This can be ice cream, a slice of leche flan, purple yam jam, or a combination of them. Pour over the evaporated milk, and you have a colorful and flavorful dish with which to treat yourself.

Answer: Condensed milk

The gulaman is cooked (with pandan leaves to make it green or essence added to the water) and cut into cubes. Young coconut, either shredded or cut into cubes, is added. Condensed milk is poured over them, to produce a dish that looks like cubic islands floating in a white ocean.

The condensed milk may be colored green, to match the jelly. Other common additives include green tapioca pearls (cooked with pandan, of course), nata do coco, cream, sugar to make it even sweeter than it is, and a scoop of ice cream on the top.

Answer: Rainbow jelly

Thach is the Vietnamese term for jelly, and rainbow jelly is made in layers, with each one using different ingredients to produce a different color. In its classic form, a different fruit juice is used for each layer, and they are layered to produce the colors of the rainbow in order - purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red (few bother with trying to produce indigo). The green layer is most often flavored with our old friend pandan, while the other layers can be made by dissolving the agar in any suitable fruit juice. Sometimes non-fruit layers may be included, such as a brown coffee-flavored layer, or a white coconut-flavored one.

According to the Vietnamese Wikepedia article on thach, when translated using the "Translate this page" function, thach can be served "as a sweet dish or in combination with other types of sweets such as cakes. Thach has been completely processed are sold under many different forms, from large decorative molding to the small glass eye to personal service." Your guess is as good as mine.

Answer: Coconut

Coconut milk is mixed with agar-agar (either strands or powdered) and sugar in water, in proportions to produce a soft jelly. When it sets, it separates into two layers, one almost translucent, and one solidly white. Rosewater (or, of course, pandan!) may be added to produce a subtle edge to the coconut flavor. Colors can also be added, if desired, but then the difference between the two final layers is not as distinct.

Answer: Bird's milk

The name is thought to be based on a Slavic legend of a princess who had everything she could desire, so sent her suitors out to fetch her something unobtainable - bird's milk. By extension, bird's milk refers to something extremely desirable, but difficult to obtain. Technically there is a substance, called crop milk, which certain birds do produce to feed their chicks, but it has nothing to do with the name! There are numerous recipes for producing this sweet at home, but in Poland it has been commercially produced since 1936 by the E. Wedel Company, and they own the rights to the name.

Answer: Cake

The Russian chef Vladimir Guralnik developed a cake inspired by the candy in 1978. It is a sponge cake with a soufflé filling and a chocolate glaze. The soufflé filling is thickened with agar, since it is more stable at the high temperatures needed to produce the right consistency than gelatine.

In the original recipe, the soufflé-filled cake was baked as a totality. Many recipes for producing it at home suggest preparing the cake and soufflé layers separately, then assembling them, and adding the top layer of chocolate at the end.