> On the question of why the gelatin does not become a liquid solution when
> exposed to heat on the processor, be as simple as the alcohols have remove
> all the water that made up this Cosby delight in the first

Not quite! The real reason is that formaldehyde converts gelatin into an
irreversable gel.

The original question involved agar, not gelatin. While the two are similar,
I do not know if their reaction to formalin is the same. Since we no longer
have a microbiology lab at our site, I do not have access to agar to check
this out. Would be a simple project for someone to undertake...........

Charles Eisener
Laboratory Alliance of Central New York
Syracuse, NY
creisener@odyssey.net