The word crumbling in the extract does not correspond to
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According to the US Pharmacopeia, agar can be defined as a hydrophilic colloid extracted from certain seaweeds of the Rhodophyceae class. It is insoluble in cold water but soluble in boiling water. A 1.5% solution is clear and when it is cooled to 34-43°C it forms a firm gel which does not melt again below 85°C. It is a mixture of polysaccharides whose basic monomer is galactose. These polysaccharides can be sulphated in very variable degrees but to a lesser degree than in car
"A Japanese Emperor and his Royal Party were lost in the mountains during a snow storm and arriving at a small inn, they were ceremoniously treated by the innkeeper who offered them a seaweed jelly dish with their dinner. Maybe the innkeeper prepared too much jelly or the taste was not so palatable but some jelly was thrown away, freezing during the night and crumbling afterwards by thawing and draining, leaving a cracked substance of low density. The innkeeper took the residue and, to his surprise, found that by boiling it up with more water the jelly could be remade".
Agar production by modern techniques of industrial freezing was initiated in California by Matsuoka who registered his patents in 1921 and 1922 in the United States. The present manufacturing method by freezing is the classic one and derives from the American one that was developed in California during the years prior to World War II by H.H. Selby and C.K. Tseng (Selby, 1954; Selby and Wynne, 1973; Tseng, 1946). This work was supported by the American Government which wanted the country to be self sufficient in its strategic needs, especially in regard to bacteriological culture media.