When you mention guar gum, you immediately think of thickener. In fact, in addition to the identity of thickener, it is also a very good water-soluble dietary fiber, a high-quality prebiotic. Therefore, in the field of food, people's understanding of guar gum is gradually changing from the "functional component" of food manufacturing to the "functional component" of food nutrition.

1 Thickener
Guar gum (CNS No.: 20.025; INS No.: 412): It is made from guar bean endosperm slices through hydration, crushing and other steps. It is almost odorless or has a slight beany smell, white to light yellow powder.
Guar gum is mainly used as a thickener and water-holding agent in food processing, and is usually used alone or in combination with other edible gums. Guar gum forms a highly viscous and thixotropic solution after rapid hydration in cold water. The viscosity of its 1% dispersion system is about 6000cPs. It is the colloid with the best viscosity-increasing effect among known gums, and its water absorption is also the best. This ability to combine with a large amount of water makes it widely used in the food industry.
Guar gum has the following functions in food:
Stabilization: It can stabilize the multiphase system (oil, water, solids), stabilize the viscosity, stabilize the colloid and reduce the surface tension, so as to stabilize the emulsion and suspension, and stabilize the foam liquid.
Thickening effect: It can increase the consistency of food and enhance the gas holding capacity of some fruit juices and beer.
Softening effect: used as an improver of edible gum together with xanthan gum and carrageenan gum.
Water retention function: prevent aging and water loss of baked products such as bread and cake, extend the insurance period, and can also be used in frozen food, pudding and yoghurt.
The role of the film: for example, it can be used in fast soup, instant drinks, microcapsule spices, etc.
Viscosity enhancement function: increase the viscoelasticity of food, improve the mechanical endurance and gas retention ability of dough, commonly used in bread, noodles and other baked foods.
Prevent large crystals: for example, prevent the formation of coarse granulated sugar crystals in ice cream.

2 Prebiotics
The main component of guar gum, galactomannan, is a pure natural plant polysaccharide, which belongs to water-soluble dietary fiber and is one of high-quality prebiotics.
The study found that guar gum has various functions of water-soluble dietary fiber in human body, can reduce cholesterol in liver and blood, can inhibit the rise of blood glucose in sugar load test, and can also regulate insulin and reduce insulin in blood.
3 Application of guar gum in food
The combination ability of guar gum and a large amount of water makes it widely used in the food industry. In the food industry, guar gum mainly plays the role of thickening and holding water. The specific applications in several common foods are as follows:
Frozen products:
Guar gum plays a role in stabilizing the system by improving and controlling the properties of water in food. It can be used in all kinds of frozen dairy products and non-dairy products to prevent the formation of ice crystals during freezing and thawing, give the product a smooth and creamy texture, and improve the chewing feeling. In addition, guar gum can also prevent the product from melting too fast, thus extending the shelf life of the product.
The use of guar gum (0.2% - 0.5%) in ice cream can prevent the formation of granular ice crystals, control the formation of large ice crystals and lactose crystals at the same time, improve the stability of the product, especially the melting resistance and sudden heat resistance. It is significantly better than other colloids in improving the taste convenience, and can give the ice cream a lubricating and waxy taste.
Baked food:
Among all kinds of baked foods, guar gum can give dough excellent film properties, especially products made from low-gluten flour. Bread products have good water retention, soft tissue and high volume expansion. When guar gum is added to cake and biscuit dough, the product will become softer and have better shape, and it is not easy to break when slicing. It can also shorten the mixing time of batter and improve the internal structure.
Fruit juice beverage:
When guar gum is used in fruit juice products, it can ensure that the pulp is evenly distributed during canning and storage, and improve the taste. In addition, guar gum can coordinate the suspension state of particles in the pulp beverage and effectively combine with emulsifier.
Zhao Rongzhong et al. found that when xanthan gum and guar gum (1:2) were added to peanut milk at 0.5 ‰, they could maintain the best stability; Adding carrageenan 0.545 ‰, CMC 0.503 ‰ and guar gum 0.562 ‰ to the lactobacillus beverage can achieve the best stability effect of the active lactobacillus beverage.
In addition, when guar gum is added to yam mixed juice, apricot mushroom peanut compound protein beverage and apricot pulp solid beverage, its stability is not ideal, but when mixed with xanthan gum and pectin in a certain proportion, the product can achieve the best stability effect.
Canned food:
In the production of canned food, guar gum is widely used as viscosity regulator, processing aid and protective hydrosol. It can reduce the product loss caused by material splashing during processing. It can easily pump the material to the canning equipment, ensure accurate control of the canning process, and help to form a homogeneous dispersion. The final product has no fat migration, has good suspension state and stable storage.
dairy:
In soft cheese processing, guar gum can control the consistency and diffusion properties of the product. Because guar gum can combine with water, the product can be evenly coated.
Adding pectin 0.25 ‰, carrageenan 0.15 ‰ and guar gum 0.55 ‰ in yoghurt can improve the viscosity and sensory quality of fermented yoghurt.
other
The prospect of guar gum is very broad. At present, it can be used not only as a natural water-soluble fiber in food, but also in low-fat or fat-free food to effectively improve its taste and