Gum Info

Agar Agar or Agar-Agar is a dried hydrophillic, colloidal polygalactoside extracted from Gelidium cartilagineum, Gracilaria confervoides and related red algae. These seaweeds grow in the ocean on the rocks from tide line to depths of 120 feet in many parts of the world. The weeds are harvested by waders along the shore at low tide, raked by fisherman from small boats, and picked by skin divers or divers in suits.
		Gum Ghatti Gum Ghatti is a water soluble, complex polysaccharide exuded from the bark of the tree Anogeissus latifolia of the family Combretrceae. The tree is quite large and found in large numbers in the dry, deciduous forest of India and Ceylon. The crude gum has a glossy fracture and occurs in rounded tears, which are normally less than 1 cm in diameter. It also occurs in larger vermiform masses. The color of the gum exudates varies from off white to dark brown. The lighter the color, the better the quality. Since Ghatti and Karaya are found in the same geographic areas, the harvesting and grading are similar. The best crops are picked when the monsoon is not occuring, and the largest crop is harvested in April. After picking the gum, it is dried in the sun for several days before being taken to the exporters at Bombay. It is then hand sorted according to color and impurities into various grades before exporting to the United States.

Guar Gum Guar gum is derived from the ground endosperm of the guar plant, Cyamopsis tetragonolobus, family Legumi. This is a hearty and drought resistant plant wich grows 1-2 meters high with vertical stalks. The seedpods grow in clusters on the vertical stalks. The pods are about 15 cm long and hold six to nine seeds about 2-3 mm in diameter. Roughly 14-16% of the seed is the hull, 38-45% represent endosperm, and 40-46% germ. This annual plant is an ancient one and is presently grown extensively in Pakistan and India for human and animal consumption. It is also grown in the semi-arid southwestern United States. The growing season is about 20-25 weeks. It needs little surface water for growing and the pods must be harvested in the fall, preferably after the first frost and definitely before the next rain. If not, some of the seeds wither, die, and turn black. If these colored seeds are not removed the quality of the gum is very poor.
	Locust Bean Gum Carob or Locust Bean Gum is processed from the seeds of the leguminous tree know as Ceratonia siliqua, family Leguminosae. This tree is widely cultivated in the Mediterranean area and to a similar extent in California. The seeds are in dark, chocolate colored pods that are 10-20 cm long. The seed or kernel is composed of the outer husk (30-33%), the germ (23-25%0, and the endosperm (42-46%). The powdered endosperm is the commercial Locust Bean Gum. The trees are harvested in late fall.
Gum Tragacanth Gum Tragacanth is the dried, gummy exudation obtained from Astragalus gummider or other Asatic species of Astragalus. This plant is a small, low, bushy perennial shrub having a large tap root, which, along with the branches, is tapped for the gum. The plants grow wild in the dry deserts and mountains of Asia Minor, Iran, Syria, and Turkey. Iran is the largest exporter and supplies the best quality. The plants are tapped by making careful longitudinal incisions in the tap root and the bark of the branches. The gum exudes readily from these cuts in the form of ribbons or flakes, which become brittle on drying. The plants require an abundance of water during the growing season, but need a dry climate during the collecting time, which extends from April to September for ribbons and from August to November for flakes. Collections are first brought to trading centers and then to wholesale markets where they are hand sorted, graded, packed. and shipped.
	CMC Since its commercial introduction in the United States by Hercules incorporated in 1946, sodium carboxymethylcellulose has found use in an ever increasing number of applications. The many important functions provided by this polymer make it a preferred thickener, suspending aid, stabilizer, binder, and film-former in a wide variety of uses.

Gum Arabic Gum Arabic or Acacia is the dried, gummy exudates from the stems or branches or Acacia Senegal or of related species or Acacia. Almost all of the world output of Arabic is from the sub-Sahara zone of Africa. The tree is about 4.5-6 meters high and lives about 25-30 years. The exudation process starts in natural breaks or wounds in the trees. This process is accelerated by cutting or tearing the bark from the tree. Gum tears collect in the wound in 3-8 weeks. Gum is collected by hand about every 10 days during the dry season which varies from October to May or June. The gum is then brought to market and auctioned under government supervision. The gum is then sorted by hand and cleaned in the cleaning sheds. The two primary grades are clean amber sorts and hand picked selected gum.
	Carrageenan Carrageenans are extracted from the class of red algae known as Rhodophyceae. After harvesting the seaweed, the Carrageenans is extracted and simultaneously upgraded through the use of various cationic alkalis. After extraction and purification the Carrageenan is either alcohol precipitated or drum dried. Alcohol precipitation is considered the best method since less thermal shock occurs and the indigenous salts are left behind in the alcohol. All Colony Carrageenans are alcohol precipitated.
Xanthan Gum Xanthan is one of the most extensively investigated polysaccharides. It is high in molecular weight and is produced by a pure culture fermentation of a carbohydrate by naturally occurring bacterium. It is then purified by recovery with alcohol, dried and milled. Completely soluble in hot or cold water, Xanthan provides very high viscosity solutions at low concentration, while its rheological behavior (pseudoplasticity over broad shear rate and concentration ranges) enables Xanthan to contribute to good sensory qualities, including mouth-feel and flavor release in food. Moreover, its solutions provide uniform viscosities over the temperature range freezing to near boiling with excellent thermal stability. Thanks to Xanthan's excellent solubility and stability under both acidic and alkaline conditions, its stability with salts and its resistance to common enzymes, Xanthan has become one of the top industrial and food polymers.		Gum Karaya Gum Karaya or Sterculia gum is the dried exudates of Sterculia urens, a tree native to India, which is the sole source of supply. The trees grow 9 meters high and their cultivation and gum collection are closely controlled by the government. As with other exudates gums, the trees are tapped or drilled, and begins immediately. This continues for several days in the form of large, irregular tears or lumps wich may weigh up to 5 pounds. The average tree can be tapped about five times during its lifetime with a yield of 1 to 4.5 kilograms per season for its lifetime. The sap or exudates is allowed to dry on the tree. The native collectors pick this crude gum which is sold to dealers in Bombay. These gum tears are then cleaned, broken into fragments less than 25 mm in diameter, sorted and graded according to color and purity before selling to importers and processors. The best quality gum is picked in April, May, and June before the monsoon season. In September the gum is picked again. This fall crop has a grayish color and is less viscous. The total crop is about five million kilograms. The United States imports about 75-80% of this crop.