605840 Sun Mar 22 12:59:07 -0700 2009 21 31 Home Cooking 0 4527746 I came across this recipe for Cranberry Panna Cotta from Food & Wine this month: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/cranberry-panna-cotta . And I would like to try it. BUT ... is there something that can be substituted for the gelatin (a vegetarian source)? I'm not generally a dessert-maker and I am at a loss. Any help from all of you knowledgeable cooks out there in CH-land is always appreciated. Thank you. LNG Sun Mar 22 12:59:07 -0700 2009 104084 LNG212 1 4527749 Agar agar - it's made from seaweed and can be found in Asian and some WFMs. Sun Mar 22 13:00:17 -0700 2009 4527746 155034 alwayscooking 2 4527768 I have a jar of agar agar at home, it's what I usually use when a recipe calls for cornstarch (not that I have anything against cornstarch; I just don't usually have it). I didn't even think of that. I think of these two as thickeners. Is that what function gelatin performs too? Or am I mistaken in thinking this way? And thanks for that info. The recipe sounded so tasty and I am really hoping it works. Sun Mar 22 13:06:12 -0700 2009 4527749 104084 LNG212 3 4527787 Agar-agar actually gels liquids, and they hold up at room temp much better than when you use gelatin. Sun Mar 22 13:16:20 -0700 2009 4527768 11995 pikawicca 4 4527794 And don't use to much - it will chew like a bad lab experiment! Sun Mar 22 13:18:45 -0700 2009 4527787 155034 alwayscooking 5 4528770 have you chewed your bad lab experiments? ;) LNG, i think the standard ratio is about two tsp. of powder / pint of liquid. (those are what my packages say.) use a smidgen more than this since the cranberry juice is pretty acidic. there's also agar agar flakes, which i've never used. i just did a quick google search and it looks like the ratio is about two tablespoons / pint of liquid. Sun Mar 22 21:00:16 -0700 2009 4527794 64215 cimui 1 4527783 If you live near any kosher neighborhoods, there is a good chance that you can find vegetarian gelatin. For more info on substitutes: http://www.vegcooking.com/vegcooking-gelatinalt.asp Sun Mar 22 13:13:51 -0700 2009 4527746 183643 sfumato 2 4527956 the brand name of kosher jello is Kojel. many well stocked supermarkets have it also. Sun Mar 22 14:30:19 -0700 2009 4527783 217807 cheesecake17 3 4527965 Kosher gelatin is often made from fish bones. Most (not all) vegetarians avoid all meat. Sun Mar 22 14:32:55 -0700 2009 4527956 155034 alwayscooking 4 4528602 Yes, thanks for the suggestion; but you are correct - we don't do fish either. But I'll be trying it with the agar-agar and if ithe recipe works out well, I may post results here (under a new thread, I guess). Sun Mar 22 18:56:19 -0700 2009 4527965 104084 LNG212 5 4528648 Agar-agar is commonly used in Asian cultures to make gelled desserts (and salad items). They normally wouldn't use cream, but it shouldn't be hard to find recipes using coconut milk or some sort of almond flavoring. That may give you ideas of how to adapt it. Sun Mar 22 19:17:08 -0700 2009 4528602 12139 paulj 4 4528752 From that website I recommended: "Many kosher gelatins are vegan. Try Lieber’s unflavored gel, Emes Plain Kosher-Jel, Carmel’s unsweetened gel, KoJel’s unflavored gel, and Hain Superfruits." No fish there. Sun Mar 22 20:51:33 -0700 2009 4527965 183643 sfumato 5 4529614 Kosher gelatin is not made from fish unless it's marked that it is. Mon Mar 23 08:40:08 -0700 2009 4528752 217807 cheesecake17 6 4529656 Kosher gelatin can be made from fish bones/isinglass and beef skin/hooves: http://www.kashrut.com/articles/DryBones/ Mon Mar 23 08:48:37 -0700 2009 4529614 155034 alwayscooking 7 4529704 Yes, it can be.. but it would be marked as such. Kojel is vegetarian.. Mon Mar 23 08:59:13 -0700 2009 4529656 217807 cheesecake17 7 4529927 Right, but then it wouldn't be marked "vegetarian" or "vegan." :) I was talking about kosher gelatin that IS labelled as such. Mon Mar 23 09:54:45 -0700 2009 4529656 183643 sfumato 8 4531297 ooops- i thought you meant kosher gelatin in general.. sorry! Mon Mar 23 16:01:35 -0700 2009 4529927 217807 cheesecake17 9 4531785 No worries! :) Mon Mar 23 18:32:36 -0700 2009 4531297 183643 sfumato 1 4527989 Never thought of it as a substitute for gelatin, but a product that is used for thickening in canning that does not go cloudy (hence the name) is "ClearGel" It is cooked cornstarch. If on an ingredient label you see "modified corn starch". That's the stuff. Don't know if it will work for you or not. Sun Mar 22 14:39:24 -0700 2009 4527746 262680 margshep 2 4528636 sub arrowroot for cornstarch when thickening gravies and the like. Arrowroot won't go cloudy Sun Mar 22 19:10:22 -0700 2009 4527989 86137 purple goddess 1 4529744 Yesterday, on the PBS show "Cultivating Life", they showed, and cooked with, a seaweed commonly known as Irish Moss. It is a source of carrageenan, a thickener used, among other things, in ice cream. Different thicknesses of the gel it produces were shown. The dried moss has to be rinsed to remove sand. It was then simmered in both cream and sugar water, as they made panna cotta and accompanying thickened caramel sauce drizzle. Mon Mar 23 09:08:31 -0700 2009 4527746 159317 greygarious 1 4754987 Sorry it took me so long to report back but I had to make the recipe twice. I had agar flakes on hand and tried that first. Okay, I must have done it wrong. Like alwayscooking said, it was soooo chewy! But in a weird way where some parts were chewy and others didn't set at all -- so basically I didn't mix/cook it well or long enough. So I tried again using the vegetarian Kojel (I now very much like Super Sol supermarket). The instructions on the packet were so very specific as to how to use it for a gelatin replacement that I couldn't mess it up. And I didn't. I made it again and I served it at a dinner party on Friday night and everyone raved about it. Even for those of you not using a gelatin substitute, do try this dessert recipe. It's very tasty (the cranberries give it a wonderful tartness) and, serving it as in the photo, it is so very pretty too. Thanks everyone for all the responses and the helpful information. Mon Jun 08 19:34:50 -0700 2009 4527746 104084 LNG212