As consumers become more conscious of food ingredients, Gellan Gum has gained attention as a natural thickening and stabilizing agent. Derived from bacteria fermentation of certain sugars, it is widely used in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. This article highlights its plant-based nature, safety, and common applications.
Gellan Gum and Vegetarian Diets
Gellan Gum is vegetarian and vegan-friendly. It is produced through microbial fermentation rather than animal sources, making it suitable for those following vegetarian or vegan diets. Unlike traditional animal-derived gelling agents such as gelatin, Gellan Gum provides an ethical and plant-friendly alternative.
Safety of Gellan Gum
Gellan Gum is recognized as safe by international food safety authorities, including the U.S. FDA and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). It is widely used as a food additive in products like jellies, plant-based milks, yogurt, and desserts. While a small number of sensitive individuals may experience mild digestive discomfort, Gellan Gum is generally considered safe when used within recommended limits.
Applications of Gellan Gum:
Food Industry: Used as a thickener, stabilizer, and gelling agent in desserts, dairy alternatives, beverages, and sauces.
Cosmetics: Provides texture, stability, and moisturization in creams, lotions, and other personal care products.
Pharmaceuticals: Serves as a stabilizer in gels, capsules, and drug delivery systems.
Conclusion
Gellan Gum is a natural, safe, and plant-based thickening agent suitable for modern dietary and ethical preferences. Its versatility in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals makes it a reliable choice for consumers seeking both functionality and sustainability.
Below 0.3%.
Opal Biotech. HA371 Type high acyl gellan gum is a kind of natural gellan gum with strong heat and acid stability gellan gum.
Compared with low acyl gellan gum , HA371 Gellan Gum is of much competitiveness in application of beverages.
In free-meat products production, Konjac would cause a kind of fishy smell due to the product characteristics but Curdlan Gum has now strange smell as it is fermentation products.
Gels formed by Curdlan Gum Gel. under heating condition of 80C is Heat Irreversible.
Approx 0.235% dosage with LAT Gellan Gum, is perfect enough for plant tissue culture media use.
Curdlan Gum could help the fresh noodles to obtain better elasticity. The noodles won’t be broken after boiling for long time. It’s easy to use as curdlan gum could be added into wheat powder directly before producing fresh noodles.
For application in milk, Carrageen is to protect proteins while gellan gum is to keep stabilizing , suspending and thickening. So gellan gum and carrageenan should be applied together in dairy beverages.
Due to worldwide climate changes , the raw material of Carrageenan and Agar become quite short in supply. This is the main cause of price increasing.
Secondly, the world demand for hydrocolloids is blooming. The increasing demand caused price going up.
While, for many applications, Gellan Gum is replacing Carrageenan and Agar, such as meat products, air freshener, boday care products and culture mediam industry.
Gellan Gum LAG is widely applied in Chinese Noodles and Buckwheat Noodles.If gellan gum is applied to Chinese noodles, buckwheat noodles, or other flour products, it can enhance the noodle’s hardness, elasticity, viscosity, and improve the taste, inhibit the swelling in hot water, reduce crack and soup turbidity. Use amount of gellan gum is 0.1-0.3% to wheat flour.In production, we should mix the gellan gum and the wheat flour first, and then mixed with other materials to make the flour product.
Low acyl gellan is a carbohydrate secreted by a bacterium (Sphingomonas elodea) that, when in the presence of salts or acid, forms very clear, clean, and brittle gels. Alternative Names : E418 LA Culinary Uses
Use to stabilize emulsifications or foams, thicken, or gel. Preparation Tips
Presence of sodium and in particular calcium inhibits proper hydration. Addition of a sequestrant such as sodium citrate binds calcium and helps hydration. Low acyl gellan, which is great for hard and brittle gels, can be mixed with high acyl gellan, which forms soft and elastic gels, to create gels that fall in the middle range of this spectrum. Although synergies are rare with this gum, it produces a stronger gel when used with gum arabic. Suggested Cooking Times And Temperatures
Scaling range: 0.05%-3.00%
Low acyl gellan is best dispersed in cold water and is improved by the presence of sugar, glycerol, alcohol, or oils, and is promoted by using hard water.
Hydration occurs between 90 and 95°C with a pH >3.9. Hydration is inhibited by the presence of sodium and calcium, but 0.1-0.3% sodium citrate helps.
Low acyl gellan will snapset, meaning that it quickly sets when under its gelling temperature (60°C). It’s gelling is promoted by calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and acids.
History
In 1978 gellan was discovered in the industrial laboratories of Kelco, then a division of Merck and Co.
Gelan Gum is made from corn/maize.
Ingredients 600 ml (2½ cups) whole milk 100 ml (about 0.4 cup) cream 150 ml (about 0.6 cup) sugar ½ teaspoon Gellan gum (NOTE: don’t overdose!) (optional) 1 tablespoon of inverted sugar (like Agave nectar) Instructions Set aside a small part of the sugar and mix that with the gellan powder. Pour the milk, the cream and the rest of the sugar in a saucepan and bring to about 70° Celsius (158° F). Add the Gellan gum (mixed with a little sugar, to ease the mix-in) and whish to promptly disperse it in the hot liquid. Keep the temperature at, or slightly above, 70° C (158° F). for at least five minutes, while whisking. Take the ice cream base off the heat and let cool down. Once cooled down, place the ice cream base in the freezer to chill. Churn in your ice cream machine, or still-freeze the ice cream using your ordinary freezer.
