Xanthan Gum

[DevilDuck]

Anyone ever use this? I hear it's a natural ingredient that reduces seperation and thickens out your sauce.

[dreamtheatervt]

Yeah, but not for hot sauces. It is a natural thickener, I believe it is derived from bacteria (obviously not a bad kind). It should be a yellowish color, as xantha means yellow in medicine. A little easier to use than corn starch.

[DEFCON Creator]

However, when using it, watch your temps, the stuff can turn into an ochre colored taffy-like snot ball. Hmmm, pretty good visual.

[marcosauces]

haha....but it is organic..:) and better then the mix that some manufacturer uses...

[E.Z. Earl]

haha....but it is organic..:) and better then the mix that some manufacturer uses...

Like Mexican bat guana, Marcos? :lol:

[DevilDuck]

I think I'll stick with the snot balls...

[marcosauces]

Like Mexican bat guana, Marcos? :lol:

LOL....that sounds nasty e.z. :)

[setzuanfire]

In my not so humble opinion, if you're gonna use a thickener, how different from the schlocky mass-produced vinegar sauces will your product be? If I want a watered-down-then-thickened-up-with-xanthan-gum hot sauce, I can get that for a buck at any supermarket. The best sauces are mostly pepper solids, then vinegar. If you're buying or making pepper mash at any level, it's still cheap enough to give your customers 'the full' product, not just 10-20 percent of it. Quality ingredients make a quality product, you shouldn't need a thickener (I usually have to thin my sauces). I know I'm gonna get some flack for this, but I know how I like my sauces, whether I make it myself or pay $5-10 for a bottle. There. Commence firing!

Happy holidays everyone!
brookthecook

[imaguitargod]

Actually, brook, you've got a great point.

[marcosauces]

Guys.....Xantam Gum is only used so the water,vinegar or juices they do not break up with the other ingredients into the bottle, and NOT used as a thickener, that would be an expensive thickener. Usually for thicknener makers use corn starch.
And if you use Xantam you only put a very small percentage, its organic and yes it will turn into a snotball if you don't pay attention at the temperature you cooking your sauce.

[E.Z. Earl]

I know I'm gonna get some flack for this, but I know how I like my sauces, whether I make it myself or pay $5-10 for a bottle. There. Commence firing!

Happy holidays everyone!
brookthecook

Flak? :think: I see no reason for flak for expressing an opinion, but you probably will get some contrary opinions. X-gum is a natural product, and is a superb stablizer for preventing ingredients of dissimilar specific gravities from seperating as the finished bottle stands on the shelf. It also thicken the sauce a bit.

Let me ask, are you approaching this subject as a consumer, a commercial maker, or a cook? X-gum is basically a commercial ingredient is why I ask. Consider this. As a cook you probably make Mama's homemade pot roast with brown gravy. Is your gravy thin like au jus, or do you give it better subdstance with a bit of natural white flour? About the same difference in my opinion (for which I expect to take NO flak). - E.Z.

[setzuanfire]

are you approaching this subject as a consumer, a commercial maker, or a cook?
All 3: Consumer-been eatin' chiles and chile products ever since I was a teen in the Mesilla Valley (near Hatch) in the mid-70's and got my first "hunan-hand" from picking in the fields there for extra money (it wasn't much!). Like many in NM, I preferred fresh, frozen or dried most of the time, and only made sauces fresh. I've tried most of the major hot sauces, pickled pods, chutneys, chile powders/rubs, all of it. And, yes, I still use Tabasco sometimes!
Commercial Maker- although my output is very small, I have many very serious gourmands and local chefs/bbqers who demand specific conditions for the ingredients I provide, of which chile sauce/mash/glaze/powder make up only a small part. Some actually want frozen smoked mashes with nothing else, some want chile infused vinegars, some use my various hab/garlic sauces for stir-fry only, and so on. The one unanimous demand is for primo ingredients with no unnecessary additives-xanthan and guar gum, starches, sodium alginate, tomatos/juice, and occasionally salt all top the list. Nobody I know minds just shaking the bottle up before pouring.
Cook-My fanaticism for cooking for large and small groups for the last 26 years prompted me to seek out hard-to-find and better quality ingredients and ways to put together 'custom' combinations. I also began in earnest to grow many of my own spices, especially chiles. My own hot sauces/mashes/powders were always popular with the bbq fans (many great cooks in their own right), but then in time more folks "got a taste" and had to have a jar or two for themselves. So I just started making more.
I've always used safe, clean, and practical preparation methods, using USDA guidelines and information from the Ball Blue Book, pressure cooker instruction manuals & recipe books, heck, even Betty Crocker! No "folk" sources or "Mama's" recipes.

So there's a little insight into my perspective on the subject(s). Just shake the bottle!!:lol: :lol::lol:


Happy Holidays!
brookthecook

[E.Z. Earl]

That's very interesting. I assume you intend to stay with the more esoteric markets rather than go for mass marketing?

BTW I disagree with some of your people's analysis of ingredients. After seeing all the products that start with tomato sauce, tomato paste, and (God forbidding) tomato catsup, I consider real diced tomatoes in tomato juice to be a primo ingredient.

I am disappointed your "Mama" didn't make the A list! Must be because she uses flour in her brown gray. :) - E.Z.

[marcosauces]

Brook....xantam it is a NATURAl ingredient

[setzuanfire]

OK. I know it's natural, still don't need it. My market isn't esoteric, just local, which is how I intend to keep it. I enjoy having direct feedback from every one who uses my products and they in turn appreciate having a responsive local supplier. But back to the thread-While I don't see the need for xanthan or guar gum, many major (or at least majorly visible) brands do use it because the average consumer may perceive an old, stale, or somewhat faulty product when it separates. Many do not. It's more pleasing to the eye when it's not separated, and some people care about that, some don't. Sooooo, Devil Duck, try it out, see if it works for you. It's not harmful and there's plenty of advice from the industry here on how to use it effectively.

[darthcarl]

another set of posts on the same subject

http://www.thehotpepper.com/showthread.php?t=731

[koolguymike]

at the risk of stirrin up a sleeping giant i have to agree with brook. i am also a purist in life in general but much more so in foods/cooking. a better product has less ingredients, no chemicals or fillers. In the sauces i make for myself i only use water, vinager, chilies, and maybe onion, garlic, or carrot. i am not saying using tomatoes is wrong but i will say using catsup for anything IS wrong. but if you see a need to use thicken in a commercial product i much rather see a natural product. but as brook said, there are other ways to deal with thick, thin, or separation.

[setzuanfire]

Not sleeping, just resting my eyes!:lol:It's all a matter of what market(s) you intend to sell to. Some will pay a little extra for (at least what they perceive as) premium or 'boutique' food products, but the majority of consumers just want a little something to enhance their stir-fry, bbq, chili, bloody mary, etc. once in a while. It's also easier to control for 'premium quality' and be more immediately responsive to the consumer with a smaller operation. I mentioned tomato in that last post only because some 'cut' their sauce with it while representing it as a primarily pepper sauce, which seems a little dishonest. But I just love ketchup with a dash of peqin or tepin sauce, and plain yellow mustard with a little bulgarian carrot sauce in it is most excellent on a brat! Anyway, my personal choices always lean towards higher quality ingredients and local/regional producers. Not interested in big metal drums of anything!:lol:
b

[DEFCON Creator]

"Not interested in big metal drums of anything!"

I like the ones that hum and glow.........

[Sickmont]

"Not interested in big metal drums of anything!"

I like the ones that hum and glow.........

What about the ones with the zombies in 'em?

[DEFCON Creator]

Hmmmm, creation of a zombie from a chemical drum, kind of like Serpent & The Rainbow, Jersey style. LOL!

[chilliman64]

I don't mind a little thickener in sauces, not to add body or present a thicker 'looking' sauce but to reduce separation when poured onto food. obviously using natural thickeners like carrot or onion or other starchy vegetable matter work but they don't always give the desired effect and I am also referring to my own home made (for myself and a few friends) to consume, I'm not selling to the fickly, fussy public.