Battle Of the Gums? (effects on Ice Cream)
I am on a quest to perfect an ice cream recipe and am curious as to the texture and flavor differences between guar gum, agar agar, and xanthan gum.
I know all of these are used in various recipes, but is there a difference in overall taste and texture between these?
Best Answer
This has long been an interest of mine as well...
I have never used Agar Agar in ice-creams, however I've tasted some having agar agar in it... I've found the texture suffered a lot, and the flavor release wasn't really good in a cold application.
Xanthan gum is my go-to thickener in many applications; you can achieve almost custardy consistencies with it... And you can to some extend use it as a stabilizer in ice-cream as well, as it prevents big ice crystals from forming.
Guar Gum is poor man's Locust Bean Gum (in a way). It's has similar (or even better) crystal preventing capabilities like Xanthan gum; and it's also a good thickener. You can also combine it with Xanthan gum to achieve stronger thickening properties.
Now, my all-time favorite, even though you haven't mentioned it... Locust Bean Gum is the best ice-cream stabilizer on its own... It's really expensive compared to other thickeners, and yet it has the best preventing capability of all. It's also an excellent thickener. In combination with many other thickeners (like... Xanthan gum, Kappa Carrageenan) it can form gels.
I basically find, LBG and Invert Sugar delivering the best ice-cream stabilizing effect and a great aid to the texture of it.
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What do gums do in ice cream?
Gums are the most powerful, flexible and the most useful stabilizers that are available to us. They suppress the growth of ice crystals better than any other ingredient. They can be used to alter the texture of ice cream in many different ways. They don't suppress other flavors and are almost flavorless themselves.What does xanthan gum do to ice cream?
Let's apply this same principle to ice cream making. When the ice cream base is still a liquid, the xanthan gum works as a thickening agent and helps stabilize the emulsion of fat particles in water (cream (mostly fat) in milk (mostly water)).How is guar gum used in ice cream?
To add Guar Gum to an ice cream recipe, start with 1/2 teaspoon for 3 cups of liquid. It will add a creaminess to your ice cream. If you find your ice cream is too thick, almost like taffy, try cutting back a little at a time. A little goes a long way!What is used as stabilizer in ice cream?
Common stabilizers used in ice cream, such as guar gum, carob bean gum and cellulose gum, function to reduce the degree of ice crystal growth by influencing viscosity and other rheological properties, thus limiting the mobility of water in the unfrozen aqueous portion.The Ice Cream is Gross Effects
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