After visiting the library today, I took the opportunity to pop into Elf Foods (the local health food shop) and picked up a couple of ingredients I’m keen to try.

The first is agar-agar, a gelling agent derived from algae. I think I used to use during my school days in petri dishes but it is edible and has culinary applications. In particular, once it has been used to set a liquid, it will be stable up to the mid-80s Celsius – much hotter than something set with gelatin. I’ve seen a recipe for an agar set “phony baloney” based on cooked red lentils that looked intriguing so that is high up the list of things I want to try.

The other one was nutritional yeast. I’m familiar with yeast from baking and brewing and I am a marmite (yeast extract) lover. As I’ve been browsing recipe books to improve my meat-free repertoire, I’ve noticed that nutritional yeast comes up quite frequently as an ingredient. Among other things, I think it contributes certain vitamins that an omnivorous diet normally gets from meat. I’m looking forward to trying this one and seeing if I love or hate it.