Re: [CH] Xanthan Gum

Steve M Duddy (timetiles@icon.co.za)
Sun, 14 Jan 2001 17:53:25 +0200 

>Ok, speaking of new ingredients, I also bought some xanthan gum today,

1)Main Entry: xan·than gum
Pronunciation: 'zan-th&n-

: a polysaccharide that is produced by fermentation of carbohydrates by a
gram-negative bacterium (Xanthomonas campestris of the family
Pseudomonadaceae) and is a thickening and suspending agent used especially
in pharmaceuticals and prepared foods -- called also xanthan"

2)"Xanthan gum is available in small quantities at Health Food stores,
fairly
expensive $8.50-9.00/6oz pkg. It will add viscosity but does nothing as a
preservative.  Mix with sugar or other powders, or add to oil before adding
to water or vinegar solutions. Let stand 3-5 min stir, use blender for
maximum thickness. Usage level starts at .25% by weight and adjust from
there
depending on thickness desired."

Fred Fatino AKA: The Creative Chef    <A
HREF="http://www.thecreativechef.com">http://www.thecreativechef.com</A>

I've used xanthan gum to thicken my recently decanted "Tabasco style"
fermented chile sauce.  I used 1.5gm per liter.
Worked wonders in keeping the sediments from sinking and only added a bit of
viscosity.

For a good reference for many food additives (unfortunately xanthan is not
listed there, but still rather comprehensive.) try:

http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm#Alphabetical

Die hard chile-heads with no sense of humor, tune-out now.

3) I found this in my wanderings looking for resources concerning xanthan
gum.  Thought it was amusing... You never know what's gonna happen on the
net when you press that search button....


Xanthan Gumm
Chapter One
Copyright 1999 Robin Reed

     On the fringes of the galaxy, nearly 8,000 parsecs from Galactic
Center, a single-engine, single-occupant spacecraft could be seen
approaching a small blue and white planet. The spacecraft was a Glexo Nebula
sport sedan with an overhead fusion injection engine, power braking, power
steering, a four-speaker quadraphonic Compact Crystal (CC) music system,
53,000 light years on the meter and a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from the
rearview video monitor. The planet was a small, oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere,
not terribly impressive bit of space debris that had cooled, congealed, and
spawned a dominant intelligent life form that liked to get down and get
funky.
     The driver of the little spaceship was breaking every galactic law on
the books (well, strictly speaking, they were in the computer, as books were
no longer used in Galactic Center) concerning this particular small blue
planet. It was absolutely forbidden to visit this planet or even its solar
system. The only way to get at all close to it was to take a cruise ship
that skimmed the system near the orbit of Pluto and allowed the
cruise-takers to get a vicarious thrill, then go home and tell their
grandchildren that they had been within less than a light year of the
forbidden planet called Earth.
     That was exactly how the driver had gotten to the Earth system.
Xanthan Gumm was his name, and he (though the pronoun...

The rest of Chapter One (and 2-15) can be found at
http://www.barstowproductions.com/pages/Xanthan.html if you're interested.
Sounds vaguely "Douglas Adams-ish" to me.

Cheers, Steve
The Wilderness
South Africa