Hydrocolloids:
Stabilisers, Thickeners and Gelling Agents > CARRAGEENAN
CARRAGEENAN
Application
Carrageenans are widely used
as gelling agents, thickeners and stabilisers. They can
be found in dairy products,
beverages, meat products, water gels and powdered desserts.
When used as gelling agents in water, they
give a wide variety of textures from firm to weak and from
elastic to brittle. The addition of various ions or Locust
Bean Gum can be used to modify the texture.
Due to their protein reactivity, carrageenans produce very
economical milk gels. Weak, semi-gelled systems can be used
to stabilise chocolate milk, giving mouth feel and cocoa
suspension. Cold water-soluble types of carrageenan can
be used in instant chocolate milk powders to provide similar
properties.
Carrageenans are also used as stabilisers for foams, ice
cream, condensed milk, cream and salad dressings.
| APPLICATION |
FUNCTION |
FMC PRODUCT |
| Chocolate milk |
Cocoa suspension and mouth feel. |
Seakem CM 611 |
| Ham injection |
Improve succulence, yield and slice ability. |
Gelcarin PS 9111 |
| Nappage |
Provides a transparent flexible glaze that eliminates
syneresis. |
Gelcarin DG 5250 |
| Hot fill Dairy dessert |
Gelling agent and syneresis control. Provides body
and creaminess. |
Lactogel FL 6369 |
| Instant mousse |
Viscosity control, improves foam structure and body. |
Viscarin GP 209 |
| Thickened milk drinks |
Suspends insoluble materials, improves mouthfeel and
helps stabilise emulsions. |
Lactarin MV 306 |
| Oil free dressings |
Suspends particulates, improves texture and mouth
feel. |
Viscarin SD 389 |
| Ice Cream & Sorbet |
Whey off protection. Texture modification. Viscosity
control. |
Seakem CM 614 |
| Flans |
Gelling agent and syneresis control. |
Seagel FL 674P |
| Processed cheese |
Gelling agent. Allows reduction in dairy protein levels.
Cost reduction. |
Gelcarin CH 7352 |
| Ground meat emulsions |
Improves succulence and yield. Prevents shrinkage
upon cooking. |
Gelcarin ME 2263 |
Chemistry
Carrageenans
(E407) are a family of linear,
sulphated polysaccharides extracted from red seaweeds.
The name is derived from a type of seaweed
that is abundant along the Irish coastline near the village
of Carrageenan. Gelatinous extracts of carrageen seaweed
(also known as Irish moss) have been used as food additives
for hundreds of years.
There are three main commercial classes of carrageenan:
 Kappa
- strong, rigid gels. Produced from Kappaphycus cottonii
Iota
- soft gels. Produced from Eucheuma spinosum
Lambda
- form gels when mixed with proteins rather than water,
used to thicken dairy products. The most common source is
Gigartina from Southern Europe.
All are soluble in hot water, but in cold water only the
Lambda form (and the sodium salts of the other two) are
soluble.
When used in food products, carrageenan has the EU additive
E-number E407.
Properties
Carrageenans are large, highly flexible molecules
which curl forming helical structures. This gives them the
ability to form a variety of different gels at room temperature.
They are widely used in the food industry as thickening
and stabilising agents. A particular advantage is that they
are thixotropic-they thin under shear stress and recover
their viscosity once the stress is removed. This means that
they are easy to pump but stiffen again afterwards.
Kappa carrageenan
is potassium-sensitive and will form strong brittle, thermo-reversible
gels in the presence of potassium ions. Calcium and most
polyvalent ions will induce gelation to a lesser extent,
while the sodium salt is non-gelling and cold water-soluble.
All other salts of Kappa carrageenan need to be heated above
50oC to ensure complete dissolution. The gels are generally
clear but calcium ions product slight cloudiness. Kappa
carrageenan gels do exhibit some syneresis, and are not
freeze/thaw stable. Kappa carrageenan will produce strong
milk gels at very low levels (i.e. 0.05 - 0.2% w/w).
Iota carrageenan
forms transparent elastic thermo-reversible gels in the
presence of calcium ions. Without the ions, considerable
thickening occurs. All salts of iota carrageenan are soluble
in cold water and milk and are freeze/thaw stable. The gels
do not exhibit syneresis.
Lambda carrageenan
does not gel in water or milk but it produces considerable
thickening in milk and will stabilise both water and milk
systems. It is cold water-soluble, thickening immediately
to give a clear viscous solution.
The above three types of carageenan are usually
blended and many of the available grades contain various
additives to alter the physical properties for specific
uses. In particular, locust bean gum is used to modify Kappa
carrageenan, increasing the elasticity, cohesion and breaking
strength of the gel.
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