Information on hydrocolloid usage in MC

[Anonymous Modernist 7391]

I've read large chunks of Modernist Cuisine, but I can't claim to have read this behemoth cover-to-cover. So it's entirely possible I've missed the following: is there a section (or sections) on the general properties of hydrocolloids? For example, today I wanted to research agar, and I found all kinds of parametric recipes and an example recipe and information on what concentrations to use to produce soft or firm gels - but nothing along the lines of "agar is good for a, b, and c, but not so good for x, y, and z. If you want to do x or y, maybe try one of these other hydrocolloids. The gels made with agar have this kind of texture, etc, etc.

Thanks!

[Ted Blockley]

Have you looked at Chapter 13 - there are charts and discussion about hydrocolloids starting on page 38. of volume 4.

Ted