Guar Gum
Origin:
Also called guaran, and is primarily the ground endosperm of guar beans from the seed of Cyamopsis tetragonoloba. It is extracted from the guar bean and is dehusked, milled and screened to obtain the guar gum powder. The guar bean is principally grown in India and Pakistan, with smaller crops grown in the U.S., Australia, China, and Africa. Guar Gum grows best in sandy soils, in areas of West, Northwest India and parts of Pakistan, which are ideal for it's farming. Jodhpur City in the North Western state of Rajasthan in India is the most important processing center of Guar Gum and contributes approximately 40% of the world's Guar Gum supply.
What is it ?
A fibrous carbohydrate from the galactomannans group. Approximately 85% of guar gum is guaran, a water soluble polysaccharide consisting of linear chains of mannose to which galactose units are attached. The ratio of mannose to galactose is 2:1. Guar gum has five to eight times the thickening power of starch and has many uses in the as a food stabilizer, and a good source of dietary fiber.
What do we use it for ?
Guar gum is one of the essential ingredients for commercially made ice creams, puddings and canned sauces. As well, as jellies and jams, bakery products, unaged cheeses, sauces, ice creams, and preserves in the retail and restaurant industries. Guar gum is not just a thickening agent, but a binder as well. When untreated ice cream melts and refreezes, grainy ice crystals often form. Guar gum has the natural ability to bind with water molecules, preventing them from forming the unwanted crystals. Processed foods with creamy textures are primarily held together
with binders such as guar gum. Without a binder, the individual ingredients might separate into a watery mess.
Additional Information:
- Disperse in cold water.
- Density is improved by mixing with 3-5 times its volume with sugar and small amounts of alcohol.
- Can hydrate in either hot or cold water.
- Shows pseudoplastic, or "shear thinning" properties. Solutions do not possess a yield point.
- Typical pH: 4-10.
- Viscosity is usually high in cold environment; low in hot.
Typical Usage:
.02% to .05%. For very sticky solutions, above 1%
<u<u>>Further Reading/Research:<</u>/u> Hydrocolloids: Practical Guides for the Food Industry (Eagan Press Handbook Series), Andrew C. Hoefler