Guar Gum – Uses, Contraindications, and Diversity

Chemistry, Food
Through past decades, food products have been formulated and reformulated. This has been done so as to achieve good quality at lower cost. One of the ways to reduce cost is to replace high price thickeners with cheap substitutes. These include seaweed extracts and vegetable gums. Among them are carageenan, locust bean, xanthan and guar gums. What exactly is guar gum? From Beans to Endosperm Guar beans are harvested from the guar gum bush. It is grown in India and Pakistan. In the U.S., it is found in Texas. Gums are used to impart creaminess. They are thus added to dairy products. They also are used in place of ingredients that contain gluten. The best known food in which this has occurred is certain breads. The endosperm is the desired…
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