Guar gum is a fiber extracted from the seeds of guar plant. It is an important product for several industrial applications including food, feed, pet food, textile, cosmetics, paper, oil drilling and fracturing, petrochemicals etc. However it’s most important application lies in food industry. Because of its valuable physical and chemical structure with excellent thickening properties, guar gum exhibits some valuable properties which are of great use in food applications like stabilizing, gelling and emulsifying. Guar gum or the popular Gumme de guar, as called in French and goma guar, as called in Spanish and guarkernmehl,
as called in german, has excellent water solubility and shows stability across various pH levels. Therefore it is added in several food products as a thickening, stabilizing, emulsifying, binding and gelling agent. There are several ways guar gum can be used in food, food and pet food.
Some of the applications of guar gum as food ingredients are implied below
Guar Gum as Additive in Baked Products and Gluten-Free Recipes
Guar gum or guarkernmehl or gumme guar or goma guar is used as an additive in several baked food products. It is used to replace flour in the baked products and therefore is an important food additive for the preparation of gluten-free recipes that are better to digest. When used as additive in baked products, guar gum has tendency to improve the softness and stiffness of the product. Guar gum absorbs water in the food and makes the mixing of the batter easy. Therefore by using guar gum as additive in baked products, life of the food product can be enhanced while reducing it’s time of preparation.
Guar Gum in Desserts and Frozen Foods
The stabilizing and thickening property of guar gum makes it a valuable additive in preparation of desserts and frozen foods especially the ice creams. Guar gum prevents the frozen foods from melting and therefore added in frozen desserts. By adding guar gum ice crystals are not formed and a smooth texture is imparted to the ice creams making them feel soft and easily to melt when eaten due to guar gum emulsifying properties.
Guar Gum in Soups, Sauces
Guar gum is added in soups and sauces as a thickening agent and stabilizing agent. When added in soups and sauces, guar gum absorbs the excess water present in them and therefore makes these food products natural viscous. Guar gum additives enhance the shelf life of the sauces and soups prepared.
Guar Gum Additive for Low Calorie Foods
If you are looking for weight loss and low calorie food is what you eat most of the time, you must be aware of the guar gum additives available in the market today. Guar gum is added in several low calorie foods to give them the mouth-feel of oils without the presence of fat in them. Guar gum as food additive can be an important additive for preparation of low calorie cake icings, cheeses, bakery products, salad dressings, sour cream, frozen desserts, condiments and sausages.
Written by Ajit Patel
This article has been posted by Ajit Patel.
