Guar Gum (E412)

Guar Gum

Guar gum is a natural galactomannan hydrocolloid that hydrates rapidly in cold water to create high-viscosity solutions at low concentrations (0.1-1%), providing exceptional water binding, suspension power, and emulsion stabilization critical for texture control and mouthfeel enhancement. In the food industry, it excels as a clean-label thickener with superior freeze-thaw stability, shear-thinning flow for pumping, and compatibility across pH 3-10 making it ideal for reduced-fat formulations, gluten-free baking, and ready-to-eat products.

Food Industry Applications

• Beverages: Suspends pulp and cloudifiers in fruit juices, smoothies, and dairy drinks maintaining homogeneity without sedimentation, provides smooth mouthfeel in low-calorie beverages at 0.05-0.2%, prevents protein flocculation in plant milks during shaking and storage.

• Bakery products: Improves dough hydration and gas retention in gluten-free breads, cakes, and pastries creating tender crumb structure, extends shelf life by controlling moisture migration, stabilizes icings and fillings preventing syneresis during freeze-thaw cycles.

• Dairy products: Thickens ice creams and frozen yogurts preventing ice crystal formation and lactose collapse, creates stable emulsions in yogurts and milk puddings at 0.1-0.3%, enhances spoonable texture while maintaining meltdown control.

• Sauces and dressings: Provides cold-process viscosity and oil droplet suspension in salad dressings and mayonnaise preventing creaming or separation, heat-stable thickening for gravies and hot sauces, pourable consistency through shear-thinning properties.

• Meat products: Functions as fat replacer and binder in low-fat sausages, patties, and injection brines improving texture and yield retention by 10-15%, stabilizes emulsions preventing fat-off during cooking and slicing.

• Confectionery: Controls sugar crystal growth in fondants and icings ensuring smooth texture, stabilizes aerated marshmallows maintaining foam structure, prevents water migration in fruit jellies and gums.

Other Industry Applications

In cosmetics, thickens lotions, shampoos, and hair gels providing conditioning properties; in personal care, stabilizes toothpaste and mouthwash emulsions; in industrial uses, functions as fracturing fluid in oil/gas extraction, and textile printing thickener.