Vegan Strawberry Peach Aspic is sooo refreshing, healthy, and easy to prepare. It's the ideal Summer Diet dessert.
Fruit aspics, sometimes called Kanten, are made using agar agar (powder, flakes, or sticks), derived from a red algae plant, used in lieu of gelatin, which is made from the hooves, cartilage, skin and bones of livestock animals, typically from bovine (pigs). Hence, it's vegan, and in my opinion, so much softer, lighter and more enjoyable.
Fruit aspics, sometimes called Kanten, are a great way to take advantage of fresh, seasonal summer fruits, although pre-sliced frozen or organic canned fruit makes this summer dessert super easy to prepare.
I made this Vegan Strawberry Peach Aspic on the fly recently for a quick, last minute dessert. The heat was on outside, and a friend drove in from out of town to join us for lunch. I made a Soba Noodle and Vegetable Salad with Tofu (sure wish I took pictures!) as the main entrée, and had the Vegan Strawberry Peach Aspic for dessert, a perfect combination for a hot summer day to help us stay cool. It received two big thumbs up by all three of us!!!
Studies have found agar agar (or just agar) to be beneficial for aiding weight loss because of its high fiber content. One study found that adding agar to a reduced calorie, conventional Japanese diet helped obese patients with impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes have marked weight loss (more than those given a similar diet, without the agar), with improvements in many health markers, including a reduction in HbA(1)c, visceral fat area, subcutaneous fat area, total body fat, and total cholesterol.
Agar is rich in soluble fiber, which aids digestion, and helps to control appetite and prevent the body from storing excess fat. According to this article on Pacific Harvest, "It’s claimed that some Japanese women use agar every spring to cleanse their bodies (to lose a little extra weight and for general well being), by adding half a teaspoon of Agar to their tea and drinking it 10 minutes before the evening meal."
Since agar is a sea vegetable, it is also a great source of many minerals and essential fatty acids. It can be used in a variety of ways, whether as a fruit aspic, pudding, or more savory vegetable dishes.
Once you see how easy it is to use, you'll be wanting to keep some agar on hand for quick refreshing, crowd pleasing desserts.
Agar agar comes in a few forms, most commonly as flakes or powder, but also as sticks. There are many sources online. Here is the agar agar page on Amazon.
We use Eden Agar Agar Flakes. We found it in a 4-pack of 1 oz. size pouches. You may be able to find it in Asian sections of Fresh Thyme, Sprouts, or other stores, or purchase from Amazon or Vitacost.com.
I've not used the powder, but it's similar. Generally, you use 1 Tbsp. of agar agar per 1 cup of liquid. It must be boiled and simmered to totally dissolve the powder or flakes. Instructions should be on your packet.
The It's Just Agar Agar Powder is pretty economical and has great reviews.
If you plan to use a lot, Micro Ingredients Agar Agar, comes in a 16 oz. size. MicroIngredients is a brand I trust.
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Vegan Strawberry Peach Aspic Recipe Ingredients & Steps (Makes about 6 servings)