Food Grade Locust Bean Gum (Molecular Gastronomy) - 50g/2oz [Misc.]

I use this to boost performance of carrageenans, so that I can use less of them -- and it really is amazing how well it works in that regard. A small percentage of LBG and I can get a great gel with one fifth as much kappa as I was using previously. Mix the kappa-LBG with some iota and I can drop the total carrageenan percentage even more, to less than 0.1% in many cases. (I mostly do panna cotta and other calcium-heavy applications, which helps. YMMV.) Really nice to be able to both save money and ingest less of these chemicals. (Whether or not they're actually harmful; I like using them but why eat lots when you can just eat a tiny bit?)

I don't get to drink coffee that much (can not have the caffeine) but when I do once a week or so, I love to have a latte with lots of foamy milk. I found an almond milk that had the best foam out there, but it was discontinued and I was very frustrated. After examining the ingredients, what was unique about the almond milk I liked is that it was the only one that listed Locust Bean Gum on it. WHAT IS THIS LIKE? Locust Bean Gum is tasteless and does not really smell like much. It is a white powder. I keep it in a glass jar with tight fitting lid. The idea is that you use it for thickener. HOW DO I USE THIS? When I have almond milk that I want to froth up with my fantastic Capresso 204.04 frothPLUS Automatic Milk Frother, Silver and Black , followed up by my Cafe Casa Milk Frother 2 Speed Handheld Drink Mixer - Latte Maker - Stainless Steel - With 2 AA Batteries Included (Silver) into a wonderful foam, I will do the following: -Put the milk into the lowest fill line of the Capresso 204.04 frothPLUS Automatic Milk Frother, Silver and Black . I will put it on the warm setting and let the milk foam while it warms up. If it is not frothy enough then.. -I take out the Cafe Casa Milk Frother 2 Speed Handheld Drink Mixer - Latte Maker - Stainless Steel - With 2 AA Batteries Included (Silver) and add a TINY pinch of this locust bean gum- I mean very tiny. I then froth with this Cafe Casa frother and what I get is almost shaving cream consistency foam. ANY DRAWBACKS? The only drawback is that you have to make sure you only use a little tiny bit as this really works fast and is highly concentrated. DOES IT WORK WITH ONLY ONE FROTHER? I use two frothers because I like the fine bubbles of the Capresso, but I like the more volume that I get from the Cafe Casa. The two together with the locust bean gum can take a very small amount of milk and increase the volume about five fold or so. Even if I add a little honey it does not seem to affect the ability to foam at all. THE BOTTOM LINE If you use any of the nutmilks, or other non-dairy substitutes, a tiny dusting of this locust bean gum can take you from weak foam to shaving cream style foam in a short time using a frother. MY RATING FIVE stars for this. I know there are other uses, but I really love having this handy for those days that I want some high volume foam that sticks around for a while and does not vanish quickly.

I like it

TLDR Version: Pro: None Con: * Not for beginners * No real instructions, have to do addtional research * Need to buy a scale * Takes some math and science - too much mental power if you're looking for something simple. * Does not work for Vegans * Vegan milk curdles (and easily burns) when heated - this stabilizer needs heat * Most effective if you add a lot of fat * Icecream taste and texture was like melted chewing gym * Still fairly noticeable ice crystals. The stabilizer is supposed to help minimize the ice crystals to have that familiar smooth texture. Deeper Details: I've been experimenting with ice cream for months. Having a dairy allergy and after my VSG surgery I can not handle the ice cream on the market because it's too sweet. So I decided to invest in the science of ice cream. I've spent over $100 and destroyed about 15 batches of ice cream until I found a solution - Xanthan gum. The effort/research: Simply starting out with vanilla... I researched European ice cream vs American ice cream does. American ice cream has a lot of fat and cream. I realized I don't want that many calories in my ice cream. European style focuses on natural fibers and custard like tecture. Stabilizer: After following all the instructions, heating up the substance - buying a scale to weigh everything - experimenting with various amounts of the stabilizer. I concluded a couple things: 1. Vegan milk - does not heat up well. 2. No matter what you do - it will curdle or burn unless at a (baby bottle) warm temperature. Unfortunately....#3. 3. Unfortunately, many of these stabilizers, like this one, do not activate at low temperatures. You will see little crusty pieces at the bottom and as it mixes with the rest, it becomes lumpy. 4. Therefore...having any type of stabilizer that requires heat is not effective. 5. Additionally to following the traditional and "advised" methods, I also tried... *Letting it set over night * Reblending the mix after heated to smooth out any cuddles *Taking the warm milk, pouring in a blender cup, THEN adding the stabilizer and blending for 60 sec. ***It did thicken and activate but tastes like melted chewing gum and surprisingly still had some crystalization. **** I concluded that this does not work. The "perfect ice cream" , "the perfect gelato", "the perfect sorbetto", and LBG (locust bean gum) - none of them effective.

Making icecream the was needed. Compared to cornstarch not much difference in end product.