Vegetarian Agar Yogurt Pie Adventure

The pie recipe had been in our family for decades. We found it on a Dannon yogurt container, back when the company actually sold large tubs of plain yogurt in the local grocery store.

Whenever we had nice fresh fruit, Mom made the pie. She’d add berries or stone fruit to a graham cracker crust, blend the rest of the ingredients together, pour the filling over the fruit, and let it set. Often she’d send me to collect fresh mint from the garden that she’d brush with melted apricot jam for extra garnish.

It’s light, tart, and admittedly perfect for breakfast, but has one big problem for vegetarian friends: Gelatin.

Because I’m me, I researched alternatives and came up with agar, also called agar-agar. This gelatin substitute is derived from seaweed. Biologists recognize it from bacteria-growing kits. I remember agar from doing DNA fingerprinting in high school.

Many cooking sites said agar could be used as a one-to-one replacement for gelatin. So I bought a bag of agar flakes, which was all I could find in the health food store at the time, and got to work.

The flakes didn’t dissolve as expected, though. They formed odd globules. I added more water. Then more flakes. Finally I tried dumping the concoction into the blender and crossing my fingers. The pie didn’t set at all. I’d promised some to my friend Heather and apologized for the goopy serving. Freaking agar flakes.

Vegetarian yogurt pie remained elusive for several more years.

Then I came across an article on Food52 that put agar to the test against gelatin. Heartened that others had struggled with agar, I decided to give the pie another go — but this time using Now Foods brand powdered agar instead of flakes. And it worked! The key was following the directions on the container and then adding around a quarter cup of the resulting mixture.

Although the agar did have a vaguely oceanic smell while simmering, that went away completely once it was blended with all the other ingredients.

Summer Berry Yogurt Pie
Makes 6 servings.

Around 1 C. fruit, like berries and sliced peaches, plus extra for decorating
1 regular sized premade graham cracker pie crust
½ tsp. agar powder and ½ C. water (original: 1 envelope unflavored gelatin and ¼ C. cold water)
1 C. lowfat cottage cheese
7 oz. Greek yogurt (2%)
2 Tbsp. half-and-half
½ C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Light seedless jam or marmalade (optional)
Fresh mint leaves (optional)

Arrange the fruit in the pie crust, reserving some for decoration.

Add the half-and-half, cottage cheese, and yogurt to a blender or food processor. Blend on high until completely smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla extract, then blend well.

In a small saucepan, combine ½ of cold water with ½ teaspoon of the agar powder. Heat over medium-low to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the agar dissolves completely and starts to thicken. This only takes about 4 to 5 minutes. Don’t let it simmer unattended — it will turn into gel.

Pour the melted agar directly into a measuring cup until you have a generous ¼ cup. Then pour the measured liquid into the blender, and blend on high to fully incorporate it.

(Gelatin instructions: In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over the cold water, let stand one minute to soften. Stir over low heat until gelatin is completely dissolved. Pour the gelatin mixture into the blender in a steady stream, and blend that well.)

Pour the filling over the fruit in the crust. Cover and refrigerate. The agar sets quickly so you can serve it after about 30 minutes. (Gelatin requires several hours or overnight to firm up.)

If desired, garnish with additional fruit just before serving. Can melt a little marmalade or jam and brush over the fruit on top. Add mint leaves for a nice presentation.