Yes. Animal products are not used in the production process. In fact, gellan gum is often used in many of your favorite vegetarian or vegan foods and beverages. It can even replace gelatin in your some of your favorite desserts and gummies.

Gellan gum is used in the food industry as a thickener or stabilizer. Used in very small doses, it acts as an anti-settling agent in liquids. For example, it keeps the cocoa from settling out of Dark Chocolate Breakfast Balance. It does not alter the taste or color of foods to which it is added. The gum itself is created by the microbial fermentation of sugar, a natural process, and is vegetarian and Kosher approved.

Gellan is a high molecular weight polysaccharide produced by the micro-organism Pseudomonas elodea. This organism was found during an extensive screening programme seeking naturally occurring hydrocolloids with useful properties. Gellan gum is a multi-functional gelling agent that can produce a wide variety of interesting textures. It is extremely effective at low use levels and is available in two forms. High acyl gellan gum forms soft, elastic gels. Low acyl gellan gum forms firm, brittle gels.

Gellan gum, which forms gels on cooling, is a versatile and effective gelling agent. It is available in two forms (high or low acyl content). The acyl groups have a profound influence on gel characteristics. The high acyl form produces soft elastic gels, while the low acyl form produces firm brittle gels. They may be used alone or blended to give products with the desired characteristics.

A further benefit of gellan gum is that it can be used at very low concentrations to produce products with excellent flavour release and no flavour masking.

In most practical situations, gels made with low acyl gellan gum are not thermally reversible and will be retort or bake stable.

Gellan gum can form fluid gels, which are in effect solutions with a weak gel structure. They exhibit an apparent yield stress, ie a finite stress which must be exceeded before the system will flow. Their highly pseudoplastic flow properties provide extremely efficient suspension combined with low viscosity at higher shear rates. This results in low viscosity in the mouth, making them particularly effective in suspending a wide variety of solids and emulsified oils. Suspension can be achieved without affecting the mouthfeel.

Gentle agitation of a weak gellan gum after it has set is also sufficient to form a weak, pourable fluid gel. This means fluid gels can be formed using standard filling operations.

Regulatory Status
Extensive investigations with respect to toxicology and safety have shown that gellan gum is a safe food additive. It was cleared by the FDA (the US Food and Drug Administration) in 1969 and registered in the Code of federal Regulations.

Gellan gum is approved as a food additive in the European Community under the number E 418, with ADI (acceptable daily intake) “not specified” confirming its status as a safe food additive. The gellan gum food grade produced by Biopolymer members fully meets the standards and the purity criteria issued in different regions of the world or internationally, such as the Food Chemicals Codex and JECFA, the US Pharmacopoeia/National Formulary, and the European Directives.

Applications
Due to the extraordinary properties as stabiliser and thickener gellan gum is used in the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and also in various industrial applications.

Since its discovery more than three decades ago, gellan gum has become a common additive in the food, beverage, personal care, industrial cleaners and paper-production markets, especially over the past 15 years. According to KP Celco, today the leading global producer of gellan gum, some of its primary functions and uses include: (1)

• Helping form gel-like consistency within substances
• Helping prevent settling or separating within food and industrial products
• Texturizing, stabilizing or binding food ingredients together in a uniform way
• Helping with elasticity, structuring and suspension
• Preventing ingredients from changing form due to temperature changes
• Providing a gel base in cellular experiments performed in petri dishes
• As an alternative to gelatin in vegan food products
• In cosmetics and beauty products to provide a smooth feeling
• In gastronomy cooking (especially desserts) to keep ingredients from melting
• And various others uses, including film-forming

So what is gellan gum exactly? It’s a food additive produced through bacterial fermentation using a sugar source, which provides a source of energy for the bacteria to consume. Gellan gum is considered to be valuable and unique in manufacturing due to its capability of creating fluid, gel solutions that have weak structures, a characteristic that’s important for structuring and adding “creaminess.” It also has a preferable setting temperature and tends to keep its stability/structure even when temperatures change or increase. In other words, it has a high “degree of thermal stability” (some studies show it’s able to withstand temps up to 120°C/248°F).

Gellan gum is sold under branded names such as GELRITE, Nanogel-TC, Gelrich, Grovgel, AppliedGel or Phytagel.

If you’re able to find any in local stores or choose to purchase some online, small amounts of gellan gum can serve similar purposes to other thickening or stabilizing agents, including those I don’t particularly recommend consuming — such as carrageenan. Therefore, if you’re in need of binding ingredients together to create fluid textures, especially in any vegan recipes, it can make a good natural alternative when cooking or baking.

Gellan gum’s uses are similar to those of locust bean gum, guar gum and xanthan gum — all similar products used to help bind, stabilize and texturize products (especially foods). While it’s best to use stabilizers and emulsifiers in small amounts (such as the minute portions added to many supplements and health food products), the addition of a tiny serving of gellan gum to recipes like yogurt or desserts can help produce a smooth finished product.

Gellan gum is sold under branded names such as GELRITE, Nanogel-TC, Gelrich, Grovgel, AppliedGel or Phytagel.

If you’re able to find any in local stores or choose to purchase some online, small amounts of gellan gum can serve similar purposes to other thickening or stabilizing agents, including those I don’t particularly recommend consuming — such as carrageenan. Therefore, if you’re in need of binding ingredients together to create fluid textures, especially in any vegan recipes, it can make a good natural alternative when cooking or baking.

Gellan gum is used with liquids to dissolve it. The liquid can either be cold or hot. Look for either high-acyl gellan or low-acyl gellan. Here is a bit about how they differ:

• High-acyl is opaque, while low-acyl is clear.
• Both types make recipes more gel-like but don’t change the flavor of the ingredients in the recipes much.
• Use low-acyl gellan gum to create textures that are firmer and more brittle, versus high-acyl gellan gum to form softer and more elastic textures that have a higher viscosity and “creamy” mouthfeel. It’s also possible to combine the two types to create the exact desired texture that’s somewhere in the middle.
• Gellan will disperse in cold water, but it’s easier if you use warm to hot water or combine it with ingredients like a source of sugar, alcohol or glycerin.
• According to the Molecular Recipes website, chefs have found that high-acyl gellan gum typically hydrates at 185°F/85°C, gels from 158-176°F/70-80°C, and melts from 160-167°F/71-75°C.
• Low-acyl tends to react to lower temperatures. It typically hydrates between 167-203°F/75-95°C, gels from 50-122°F/10-50°C, and melts from 176-284°F/80-140°C.
• High-acyl gellan is freeze/thaw-stable , but usually low-acyl gellan is not.
• High-acyl gellan will tolerate up to 50 percent alcohol.

You only need a very small amount of gellan gum to work. Look for products in the concentration range of 0.2 percent to 1.0 percent gellan gum if you’re using it in recipes. Use a very tiny amount to start (start with a small pinch, less than half teaspoon), adding more as you go depending on the texture you’re looking for and the size of the recipe. Keep it mind it works quickly and will gel recipes very fast, so less is more!

Gellan Gum Recipes

Here are several recipes you can try adding a pinch of gellan gum to in order to help with texturing and heat-stabilizing:

• Try using a small amount of preferably organic gellan gum when working with dairy, sorbet, gluten-free flours, clear/sticky noodles or preparing other DIY beauty/household recipes that require forming gel-like textures.
• You might want to try making probiotic-rich homemade kefir or yogurt, in which you can use gellan gum as a thickening agent to help with maintaining homogeneity of texture.
• Same goes for homemade fruit sherbet in a blender, homemade ice cream, fruit toppings for desserts, vegan banana cream pie, or homemade almond milk or coconut milk.