Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Xanthan Gum = CORN

From my previous post about Xanthan Gum, I thought I understood that Xanthan Gum came from a strain of bacteria that is used during the fermentation process. The same bacteria that causes black rot on broccoli and cauliflower. "The slimy substance formed by the bacteria during the fermentation process that acts as a natural stabilizer or thickener and gluten replacement."  
I thought I understood that it didn't contain corn. That the sugars found in Xanthan gum were just also present in corn sugar, and after being processed, the sugars were much like that of cornstarch?? I was quite confused.. But... I think I'm finding differently and understanding...
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-xanthan-gum.htm



"When Xanthomonas campestris was combined with corn sugar, the result was a colorless slime called xanthan gum. Xanthan gum is considered a polysaccharide in scientific circles, because it is a long chain of three different forms of sugar. What's important to know is that all three of these natural sugars are present in corn sugar, a derivative of the more familiar corn syrup. The Xanthomonas campestris bacteria literally eat a supply of this corn sugar under controlled conditions, and the digestion process converts the individual sugars into a single substance with properties similar to cornstarch."


What-exactly-is-xanthan-gum? - this is a good article. 
Okay... All of these breads and baked goods in the health food/organic stores... shouldn't be there! BLEH. No wonder Cherrybrook Kitchen mixes really gave me bad indegestion! However, I still appreciate the creators of Cherrybrook Kitchen and there mission. But, I am SO glad I didn't buy any Xanthan Gum to experiment with. 


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