Xanthan Gum — Frequently Asked Questions

Most sauces, dressings and gravies use 80 mesh xanthan gum. The coarser particles separate from each other when added to liquid, so it disperses with fewer lumps and still hydrates fully during normal mixing and heating. 200 mesh is chosen when viscosity must build very quickly, for example in cold-process instant sauces or dry mixes that consumers stir by hand, and it is usually pre-blended with sugar, salt or starch to keep it from lumping.

Separate the particles before they meet water. Pre-blend the gum with at least five to ten times its weight of another dry ingredient such as sugar, salt or starch, or disperse it in oil or glycerine, then add it to the liquid under strong agitation, ideally into a vortex. Add it early, before salt and acid levels are high. An 80 mesh or dispersible grade also reduces lumping compared with fine 200 mesh powder.

Typically around 1 % to 2 % of the weight of the flour blend. Xanthan gum partly replaces the viscoelastic network that gluten normally provides, holding gas during proof and giving a crumb that slices without crumbling. Too little gives a flat, crumbly loaf; too much makes the crumb gummy. It is often combined with psyllium, guar or modified starches, and the optimum depends on the flour blend.

Yes, and that is one of its main advantages. Xanthan gum keeps its viscosity at the low pH of vinegar-based dressings and fruit preparations, in high salt and sugar, and through pasteurisation, retorting and freeze-thaw cycles, where many starches break down or weep. Extended heating at very low pH will eventually reduce viscosity, so validate the full process and shelf life in trials.

The combinations are synergistic. With guar gum, xanthan gives more viscosity than either gum alone at the same total level, which lowers cost-in-use in sauces and ice cream. With locust bean gum it forms a soft, elastic, thermoreversible gel, even though neither gum gels alone, which is used in desserts, pet foods and fillings. The ratio is optimised by trial.

Xanthan gum is a highly purified polysaccharide, but the bacteria are fed a carbohydrate that may come from maize, wheat, soy or other crops. The finished gum normally contains no detectable protein from the substrate, and wheat-derived carbohydrates are often covered by allergen exemptions, but policies differ between customers and markets. Ask for a statement covering the fermentation substrate, allergen status and GMO status for the grade you buy.