Agar Jelly

Agar Jelly

　　Agar jelly has a history of over a hundred years in Quanzhou and remains widely popular to this day. It is made from the natural seaweed plant known as "stone flower," which grows on the seabed and is extremely difficult to harvest.

　　Agar jelly is entirely handmade. First, the stone flower is boiled in a large pot, then filtered through cheesecloth, and left to cool and naturally solidify into a jelly-like, translucent and clear form. When eaten, it can be served with honey water or sugar syrup. It is refreshing and helps reduce internal heat during hot weather.

　　Although agar jelly looks similar to regular jelly, its texture is crisp yet tender. When serving, the vendor uses a tool similar to a planer to swiftly scrape the solid block of agar jelly into fine, even strips, which are then placed in a bowl. Toppings such as red bean paste or taro paste are added, along with a spoonful of honey water, making it a refreshing summer specialty.

　　There are many possible toppings for agar jelly, including lotus seed soup, red bean paste, mung bean paste, white fungus, date cake, grass jelly with honey, diced taro, and fresh fruit cubes. Agar jelly is affordable and delicious, suitable for all ages, and is especially beloved by the people of Quanzhou.

　　Recently, a reader named Xiaobai translated agar jelly as "stonepudding." Xiaobai believes that in English, gelatinous or pudding-like things are called "pudding," and agar jelly falls into this category. Although it is made by boiling a type of herb and not actually derived from stones, the ingredient is called "stone flower." Taking the "stone" part, it was creatively named "stonepudding," which carries the meaning of "stone flower" and is quite interesting.

　　However, a translation derived from the seaweed ingredient "stone flower," such as "Seagrasspudding" (seaweed pudding), might have more flavor to it.

　　Other readers have come up with the following translations for agar jelly—

　　1. Honeyjelly – Understanding agar jelly’s state, it is similar to jelly, hence "jelly." But in southern Fujian, agar jelly is usually served with honey, thus called "honeyjelly." It is somewhat different from regular jelly and at first glance could even be humorously interpreted as "honey dear jelly."

　　2. Grassjelly – Since foreigners call fruit jelly "fruitjelly," by analogy, agar jelly, which is made from a type of grass from the seaside, can be called "grassjelly."

　　3. Starchagar – Though agar jelly is not actually made from starch, it is a coagulant that resembles stone flowers and solidifies like starch. Although it is similar to jelly but not exactly the same, it could be called "starchagar."

　　4. Jellyagar – Agar jelly can be understood as a jelly made from "stone flower algae" that grows on the seabed. Since it is boiled from this type of seaweed, it could be called "jellyagar."

　　5. Agar-made jelly – Agar jelly is similar to jelly, and the English word for jelly is "jelly." However, according to information, agar jelly is made from a type of seaweed called agar weed, and the English word for agar is "agar." Therefore, it can also be translated as "agar-made jelly." (Source: Quanzhou Web)