Agar agar is the gelling agent pastry chefs reach for when gelatine won't do: plant-based, set firm at room temperature and happy to be reheated without collapsing.

This is the professional 500g pack from Sosa, the Spanish specialist in technical ingredients for pastry, gelato and modern cuisine. Agar is extracted from red algae, so it suits vegetarian and vegan menus.

It sets cleanly and quickly, with a firmer, shorter bite than gelatine, and carries no flavour of its own, so the fruit, wine or stock you set with it tastes of itself.

Use it for fruit jellies, terrines, glazes and set creams, or drop a hot agar mix into cold oil for caviar-style pearls at the bar. A little goes a long way: follow the dosage on the pack.