Carrageenan Powder Carrageenan Food Additive Carrageenan Food Grade Carrageenan Thickener

Carrageenan
CAS No: 9000-07-1
EU additive E numbers: E407
Appearance: off-white powder
Function: Thickener, gelling agent, suspending agent, emulsifier and stabilizer, etc.

Application: food, pharmaceuticals

Carrageenan is a natural polysaccharide hydrocolloids gum extracted from marine plant red algae. Its color is generally off-white to light yellow powder, odorless and tasteless. Carrageenan is very soluble in water, and can be dissolved well at a water temperature of 80 ° C. The gel it forms is a thermally reversible gel, that is, the gel is heated to melt into a solution and the solution is cooled to form a gel again. Carrageenan has good stability, and it is not prone to hydrolysis even when heated in neutral and alkaline states. Carrageenan is used together with konjac gum, locust bean gum, xanthan gum and other hydrocolloids, which can play a significant synergistic effect, can significantly change its gel properties, and greatly enhance its gel elasticity and water retention.

Carrageenan in jelly
Carrageenan as a good coagulant can replace the usual agar, gelatin and pectin in jelly products. The jelly made of agar has insufficient elasticity and high price. The disadvantage of jelly using gelatin features the low solidification and melting point, and low temperature refrigeration is required for preparation and storage. The disadvantage of using pectin is adding high solubility sugar and adjusting appropriate pH value is required for solidification. Carrageenan does not have these shortcomings. Jelly made from carrageenan is good elastic and has no water repellency. Therefore, carrageenan has become a commonly used hydrocolloid for jelly.

Carrageenan in jelly candy
The jelly fruit candy made of carrageenan features strong fruit flavor, moderate sweetness, refreshing, non-sticky and good transparency.

Carrageenan in ice cream
In the ice cream, the carrageenan can distribute fat and other solid evenly, preventing milk components separation and ice crystals, which can make ice cream delicate and smooth. In the production of ice cream, carrageenan can interact with the cations in milk to produce unique gelling properties, which can increase the moldability and anti-melting resistance of ice cream, improve the stability of ice cream when the temperature fluctuates, and it is not easy to melt when placed.
In ice cream, carrageenan is not suitable as the main stabilizer, but it can be used as a good auxiliary stabilizer to prevent whey separation at a very low concentration. Although carrageenan increases the viscosity of the system, it is not sufficient to stabilize the system. Locust bean gum, guar gum, and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose used alone or in combination are good primary stabilizers, however they have the same disadvantage that they cause whey separation in the ice cream mixture. Therefore, adding carrageenan can inhibit this phenomenon.

Carrageenan in meat
In meat products the carrageenan mainly acts as gelling agent, stabilizer and binding agent, it can bind meat with water and keep salt water inside the net structure, making the meat products more juicy.