Re: Guar Gum as a thickening agent

[Guest guest]

Absolutely Russ. When making the puddings, when too thick, I find that I

can't even eat them. The texture is not pleasant and I can't imagine anyone

actually forcing a " too thick " mixture down your throat. One or two tastes

of an overly thick pudding and I have to add water to the mix to thin it

out. BTW, this is easily done without causing lumps or detrimental effects

to the pudding.

This effect of the guar is what makes it so useful as a thickening agent in

commercial foods, such as bottled salad dressings. It can be used for this

purpose in our own recipes. In the new recipe folder/file, under

Miscellaneous, there's a " cream sauce " made with skim milk and thickened

with guar instead of using cream. I also now use it for my homemade salad

dressings also. I plan to use it on Thanksgiving to thicken my gravy rather

than use flour or cornstarch.

on 7/28/2002 12:56 PM, Russ Abbott at RAbbott@... wrote:

> Hi all,

>

> Just ran across the following page about guar gum.

> (www.wholefoods.com/healthinfo/guargum.html). It includes the following

> paragraph.

>

> In the late 1980s, guar gum was used and heavily promoted in several weight

> loss products. FDA eventually recalled these due to reports of esophageal

> blockage from insufficient fluid intake. For this reason, guar gum is no

> longer approved for use in over-the-counter weight loss aids in the United

> States. However, it remains approved for use as an emulsifier, thickener,

> and stabilizer.

>

> So be sure to drink enough water with your guar gum.

>

> -- Russ

>

>