Customer Reviews

Agar Agar Powder, 4 oz.

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I got my agar agar yesterday, and I feel like I've been scammed. The only reason I chose to buy from Barry Farm was that it was the cheapest option. But that wasn't the case.

When I first held the package (which is smaller than what is pictured here), I thought it was oddly light for 4 oz. So I weighed it on my military grade digital scale and bingo, it's 3.2 oz. Without the packaging that would mean 3 oz. I thought it might be my scale so I weighed my mineral makeup that came on the same day, 1.3 pounds each for a 1 pound bag. So Barry Farm only shipped me 3 oz of product when I payed for 4 oz, which doesn't seem like a lot but when you do the calculations it's quite a dent.

Let me compare this to the other agar option on Amazon by NOW Foods.

Barry Farm (3 oz) $7.90 + $7.13 (Shipping) = $15.03 (Comes in a plastic Ziploc bag)

NOW Foods (2 oz) $4.20 + $5.38 (Shipping) = $9.58/2 = $4.79/oz * 3 = $14.37 for 3 oz (Comes in a plastic bottle)

NOW Foods (32 oz) $40.79 + $7.55) = $48.34/32 = $1.51/oz *3 = $4.53

So including shipping,

Barry Farm $15.03/3 oz
NOW Foods $14.37/3 oz
NOW Foods $ 4.53/3 oz

With a bottle instead of a plastic bag, my future purchases would be from NOW Foods. I'm so tempted to get the 2 Pound bottle since an ounce is only $1.51 that way, but agar's gelling quality is so good that it gets used very slowly.

Now about the agar. I cooked it last night (1 Cup apple juice to 1/2 teaspoon powder), and left it in the fridge. This morning I woke up to see it gelled quite nicely. It doesn't have the doinky texture of gelatin jello and it's much harder to the touch. I tasted it and didn't notice an exponential increase in the taste of apple juice, and the texture of the agar isn't as good as gelatin jello. It sort of just breaks apart in your mouth like...sand maybe? But at least it's supposedly healthy.

So in terms of Barry Farms I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 star because at least the product worked. But not going to buy from them again since I don't know if I'll be cheated. Internets a scary place where merchant reputation is very important. They should have put more product in the bag to ensure it measures at least 4 oz. Now their reputation is tarnished.

Their shipping is expensive and they havent even shipped it yet. Had I known that it would take more than 16 days (and counting) for this company just to get the product out the door, I would have purchased from one of the many other sellers on amazon.

Decent packaging, and amazing for baking. I couldn't believe how much more volume it gave to my gluten-free breads. It also makes them not brittle. Agar is hard to find in stores - highly recommended.

I tried this product with several recipes and was very pleased with the results.
I will recommend it to my friends.

It was good to be able to buy a hard to find item at a reasonable price.

Barry Farms made shopping with them very easy. They were incredibly fast on getting the product out to me. I just want to say thank you!