Pectin are the major components of most higher plant cell walls; they are particularly prevalent in fruits and vegetables. Xanthan gum is obtained by the process of microbial fermentation.
Other examples of vegetable gums: agar, gum Arabic, gum tragacanth, xanthan gum, methylcellulose.
Vegetable gums used exclusively for thickening and gelling. Thickening occurs when water and other molecules or particles move around slowly. While gelling occurs when water and other molecules or particles are prevented from moving around at all.
The viscosity of vegetable gum has important industrial applications in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, textile, adhesives, and paint fields.
The vegetable gums are also used in emulsion-type waterless hand cleaners, as emulsion stabilizers, rather than as simple viscosity agents.
These properties are due to their chemical structure and conformation of the polymer in solution and in turn are used to deliver functionality such as the development of structure, modification of textural properties of a food system, or shelf-life extension.
Food applications include canned food (such as mushrooms, peas, and asparagus), soups, sauces, gravies, jams, jellies, and many others.
Vegetable gums
