| Guar Gum | I.H.C. Chempharm | Guar gum can best be described as a natural food thickener, similar to locust bean gum, cornstarch or tapioca flour. It is said to have significantly more thickening ability than cornstarch, at a fraction of the cost. This has made it a popular additive i...展开 Guar gum can best be described as a natural food thickener, similar to locust bean gum, cornstarch or tapioca flour. It is said to have significantly more thickening ability than cornstarch, at a fraction of the cost. This has made it a popular additive in products such as puddings and ice creams. Until recently, it was also an ingredient in non-prescription diet pills designed to create a sense of fullness. The guar plant, also known as a cluster plant, grows primarily in Pakistan and the northern regions of India. It thrives on the drought/monsoon cycles present in those areas. The plants are harvested after the monsoon season and the seeds are allowed to dry in the sun. The seeds are then manually or mechanically separated and processed into a flour or sold as split seeds. Guar gum is an important cash crop for the Indian and Pakistani economies. 收起 | |
| Xanthan Gum | I.H.C. Chempharm | Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide that's commonly used as a food additive. The name is derived from the strain of bacteria used during the fermentation process that is used to make it, Xanthomonas campestris. This is the same bacteria responsible for causin...展开 Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide that's commonly used as a food additive. The name is derived from the strain of bacteria used during the fermentation process that is used to make it, Xanthomonas campestris. This is the same bacteria responsible for causing black rot to form on broccoli, cauliflower and other leafy vegetables. The bacteria form a slimy substance which acts as a natural stabilizer or thickener. It was developed when the United States Department of Agriculture ran a number of experiments involving bacteria and various sugars to develop a new thickening agent similar to corn starch or guar gum. Xanthan gum is considered a polysaccharide in scientific circles, because it is a long chain of three different forms of sugar. What's important to know is that all three of these natural sugars are present in corn sugar, a derivative of the more familiar corn syrup. The Xanthomonas campestris bacteria eat a supply of this corn sugar under controlled conditions, and the digestion process converts the individual sugars into a single substance with properties similar to cornstarch. Xanthan gum is used in dairy products and salad dressings as a thickening agent and stabilizer; it prevents ice crystals from forming in ice creams, and also provides a "fat feel" in low or no-fat dairy products. 收起 |
