I'm a label reader and I like to know what I am putting in my body. I have been seeing "xanthan gum" listed as an ingredient in many different types of food, like this Annie's salad dressing. I finally decided to find out what it is exactly.
To find out read more
Xanthan gum is made by fermenting corn sugar with the Xanthomonas campestris bacterium (that's where it gets its name). This bacteria is the same one that causes black spots to form on broccoli or cauliflower. It's added to products as an emulsifier to help ingredients blend more effectively, and it's also used as a thickener. Xanthan gum is usually found in salad dressings and sauces, but you may also see it in frozen foods to prevent ice crystals from forming. It's also added to fat free foods to give them a smoother consistency. Some toothpastes contain this additive, and xanthan gum is also used in gluten-free baked goods to give the dough a sticky consistency.
Since it's made from corn sugar and added to foods in small amounts, it's not unhealthy for us. The only people who need to watch out are those who have a corn allergy.
Nike
Benefit
Marc by Marc Jacobs
wow, crazy! Thanks!
1Interesting! I wonder what some of the mystery ingredients are on nutrition labels but haven't bothered to look any of them up so far. Glad to know!
2good to knw!
3good to knw!
4mystery solved! thank you.
5Thank you. I would have never thought it was a bacteria.
6I've always wondered what that was!
7It's scary to realize just how many corn-based additives are in our food. It's seemingly unescapable in most any packaged product.
I saw a list somewhere and it was eye opening, besides the obvious high fructose corn syrup: xanthan gum, maltodextrin, dextrin, dextrose, modified food starch, crystalline fructose, etc, etc
Subsidies to corn farmers that have led to an over-abundance of these labratory made ingredients, is a large part of the obesity problem in the US, I believe.
8Good to know...
9At the moment I read this, I was sitting at my desk eating the salad brought for lunch- with that exact salad dressing. I put my fork down long enough to read that it isn't a harmful ingredient. Good to know!
10Marcel from a former season of Top Chef used xanthan gum in his cooking and he seemed to favor high quality ingredients. (Perhaps I watched this show a little too closely . . .)
11so is it safe to eat broccoli and cauliflower with the black spots on it? lol.
12very interesting
13Is that dressing good? I love Annie's Goddess dressing, but sadly the fat grams keep me from buying it most of the time...
14Interesting. Truthfully, I don't like bottled salad dressings. I like to make my own in a way simple way with olive oil, vinegar, garlic, herbs, and sometimes, some dijon mustard.
15Thanks, Yum!
16Yeah, xanthan gum is pretty natural as far as food ingredients go. Truthfully, it is used in VERY small amounts in foods because a little goes a long way!
17ew how disgusting!
18umm, NATURAL! i'm with pookie, corn based laboratory foods are not exactly "natural" thats like saying drinking ethanol is natural because it comes from "plants" or even worse drinking bio fuel. Corn Syrup itself is already processed corn and then further processing takes it another two steps from "natural" cutting out corn was the best thing i've done for my diet. I still eat NATURAL CORN PRODUCTS (corn on the cob, polenta or grits, and corn meal for corn bread) i lost about 10 lbs and my energy increased. I no longer eat processed food, because they all contain corn something. even citric acid is often made with processed corn. CORN itself is not even a food that human's digest, have you seen what happens in restroom the next day. There is a reason for that. Native people who introduced corn to use used corn that is very ge
19Kinda disappointed that they have Splenda as a seasoning option.
20oops posted under wrong thread :-\
21Guar gum is natural (it comes from the seed of the guar plant) and I prefer it over xanthan which I find has a weird texture and taste when added to commercially made, including organic, salad dressings. This is from About.com: Gluten Free Cooking:
"Xanthan gum is a corn-based, fermented product. It's made by fermenting corn sugar with a microbial called "Xanthomonas campestris." It's used extensively in the food industry to make products thicker and it's a common ingredient in gluten-free recipes.
If you use too much xanthan gum in a recipe you may notice a heavy, gummy or even slimy texture in your baked goods- so measure carefully when using xanthan gum.
People with allergies or sensitivity to corn may be advised by their physician to avoid xanthan gum. Also, xanthan gum generally costs almost 3 times as much as guar gum."
Personally, since most corn is genetically modified, I don't consider xanthan gum as something I would want to consume on a daily basis.
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