agar

n. complex sugar (used in food production, cooking and as a base for bacterial cultures)

Agar is a gelatinous substance chiefly used as a culture medium for microbiological work. It is an unbranched polysaccharide obtained from the cell walls of some species of red algae or seaweed. It can be used as a laxative, a vegetarian gelatin substitute, a thickener for soups, in jellies, ice cream and Japanese desserts such as anmitsu, as a clarifying agent in brewing, and for paper sizing fabrics. The word agar comes from the Malay word agar-agar (meaning jelly). It is also known as kanten or agal-agal (Ceylon agar). Chemically, agar is a polymer made up of subunits of the sugar galactose. Agar polysaccharides serve as the primary structural support for the algae's cell walls.
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Noun
1. any culture medium that uses agar as the gelling agent
(synonym) nutrient agar
(hypernym) culture medium, medium
(hyponym) blood agar
(substance-meronym) agar-agar
2. a colloidal extract of algae; used especially in culture media and as a gelling agent in foods
(synonym) agar-agar
(hypernym) gum
(substance-holonym) nutrient agar

n. agar, complex sugar (used in food production, cooking and as a base for bacterial cultures)

n. agar, complex sugar (used in food production, cooking and as a base for bacterial cultures)