What is the difference between agar-agar and coral grass? A quick guide to telling the two apart

Both agar-agar and coral grass grow in the sea, and their appearances are very similar. People seeing these two plants for the first time may not be able to tell them apart, and may instead get confused: which one is coral grass? Which one is agar-agar? Here we introduce how to tell the two apart.

1. The difference between agar-agar and coral grass

Agar-agar is an alga of the family Gelidiaceae, order Gelidiales, with a purplish-red or brownish-red thallus, flat and upright, growing in tufts with feathery branches, mainly found on coral reefs 1-2 m below the low tide line; coral grass, on the other hand, is a plant of the genus Spatholirion in the family Commelinaceae, growing along the shores of pure, unpolluted sea areas, with the whole plant more or less covered in white powder and hairless; the stems are slender, clustered, and come in all kinds of colors.

Agar-agar is very widely distributed and is a cosmopolitan red alga. China's coastal agar-agar resources are very abundant, distributed from the Liaodong Peninsula in the north to the coast of Taiwan, China in the south. Coral grass, by contrast, grows only in coastal saline wetlands; it is a natural, environmentally friendly terrestrial plant with a strong purifying effect on marine waste. In addition, coral grass can be used medicinally in traditional Chinese medicine, while agar-agar has no relevant medicinal value.

2. The benefits of agar-agar and coral grass

Both agar-agar and coral grass can be used in cooking. Agar-agar is rich in minerals and vitamins, and also contains alginate substances, which have a blood-pressure-lowering effect, while the starch sulfate it contains is a polysaccharide with a lipid-lowering effect, helping to prevent and treat both high blood pressure and high blood lipids. Coral grass is rich in collagen, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus… and other minerals, and its enzymes from the sea give it a nutritional value far surpassing bird's nest, shark fin, Chinese yam and other edible seaweeds, making it a rare high-quality natural health food.

A common agar-agar dish is agar-agar jelly, which is transparent throughout, like a gel, with a crisp, refreshing and tender texture; the main method is to soak the agar-agar in warm water at about 40 degrees for 2 hours, wash and drain it, then add seasonings and it is ready to eat. Coral grass can also be prepared in many ways; a common one is cold-tossed coral grass, made by soaking an appropriate amount of coral grass in clean water for about 8 hours, changing the water 4—5 times, then adding seasonings and mixing well.

That is all for coral grass and agar-agar. When buying them in the market, you should still pay attention to telling them apart; as long as you are a little careful, these two are actually quite easy to distinguish.