Experiments with Guar and Xanthan Gum

When troubleshooting home cooking disasters, folks often call on me for answers. Why didn’t my cake rise? Why did the lemon curd curdle? What’s a broiler? (You know who you are). Usually I know the answers only because at one point I had these problems myself. But just as often, I’m clueless.

Recently, several people have asked me how to keep homemade ice cream as scoopable as store-bought brands. My usual response has something to do with egg yolks and stirred custard and fat percentage….but really, until recently, I had no idea why my ice creams were freezing solid over night either.

To research the issue, I purchased a few alternative brands of ice cream; brands that kept their ingredients simple and natural. My goal was to replicate their texture with minimal stabilizers and chemicals. Guar gum and xanthan gum were instantly noticeable as the most popular stabilizers in natural ice cream brands.

Guar gum, it turns out, is little more than a ground bean from India. Xanthan gum is simply fermented glucose or sucrose. Both gums can be found in powdered form at most health stores and are primarily used in the food world in gluten-free baking.

In ice creams, both guar and xanthan act as thickeners and stabilizers. The addition of the gums will prevent the formation of ice crystals by maintaining distribution of fats and solids. It will also produce a creamy mouthfeel, meaning less butterfat and/or egg yolks need to be used to produce a satisfying texture.

But be warned; these are powerful potions. Mix them into your base too fast, and you’ll get major clumping. Use too much and the ice cream will literally be chewy. Use even more and the ice cream simply won’t set.

To avoid flops, use a light hand in both technique and amount. Some people suggest putting the guar or xanthan powder in a saltshaker and lightly dusting the liquid while simultaneously whisking like mad. Others recommend adding the stabilizers while whirling the ice cream base in a blender. Both techniques work, and if you have a steady hand, you can simply tap the measuring spoon on the rim of the bowl to release a small amount of stabilizer while whisking to incorporate.

For guar gum, use no more than .5 percent of the weight of your liquid base and .2-.4 percent for xanthan. The two stabilizers can be used in tandem, but their amounts must be halved accordingly. Being particularly horrible at math, I’ve taken to simply using a ½-teaspoon of guar gum or a ¼-teaspoon xanthan gum per quart of liquid and have been pleased with my results.

I’ve found that information on the use of guar and xanthan in ice creams is fairly limited online. If you happen to be a closet food scientist, please feel free to share your knowledge with us in the comment section. In the mean time, try this ultra-smooth, ultra scoop-able Salted Caramel Ice Cream recipe below.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Adapted from Gourmet August 2009

The addition of guar/xanthan to this recipe makes it beautifully smooth and easy to scoop. Try sprinkling a scoop of it with flaky sea salt or pair it with a chocolate sorbet to cut the richness. Store-bought brands don’t even begin compare to this stuff.

Makes 1 quart

1 ¼ c sugar, divided
½ c water
2 ¼ c heavy cream, divided
½ tsp flaky sea salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 c whole milk
3 egg yolks
Scant ¼ tsp xanthan gum or
½ tsp guar gum or
1/8 tsp xanthan + ¼ tsp guar gum

Heat 1 cup sugar and water in saucepan over high heat until the sugar becomes dark amber.

Add 1 ¼ c cream (mixture will spatter) and cook, stirring, until all of the caramel has dissolved. Transfer to a bowl and stir in sea salt and vanilla. Cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, bring milk, remaining cup cream, and remaining ¼ cup sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally.

Lightly whisk egg yolks in a medium bowl, then add half of the hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until custard coats back of spoon and registers 170 degrees on a thermometer. Do not let mixture boil. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then stir in cooled caramel.

Chill custard, stirring occasionally, until very cold, 3 to 6 hours. Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up.