Emulsifiers

[Selloum]

Hi,

I'm trying to prevent sedimentation in my bottled soda using gum arabic, but I'm not having any success. Has anyone used emulsifiers to suspend juice particles in a liquid or knows the minimum ratio using gum arabic?

 

[Gruel]

Wouldn't it be easier and healthier to just shake/rotate the bottles before dispensing, instead of adding chemicals?

 

[Selloum]

Gum arabic is a natural product and considered a safe dietary fiber. It's used to add head, give it a different mouthfeel, and emulsify. I am bottling my sodas, and I would like to avoid sedimentation.

I've seen ratios in the range of 0.1-0.2% w/w of GA, but it hasn't worked for me. I'll keep experimenting with higher ratios.

Has anybody used GA in their soda recipe for juice-based sodas instead of oil-based sodas?
For example, Ginger Beer made with ginger juice will settle at the bottom. Any idea how to properly emulsify the GB?

 

[marc1]

Emulsifiers mix two otherwise immiscible liquids.
Am I correct in my understanding that solids from your ginger juice are settling out?
Or is the juice itself somehow not mixing in?

 

[Selloum]

I can mix the ginger juice into the water and sugar mixture, but the juice will settle after a day. Is there no way to emulsify or stabilize the soda?

When I extract the ginger juice, I pass it through a fine-mesh strainer and discard the solids. I then let it sit for about an hour to allow the starch (white part) to settle. Finally, I pour that into another jar, leaving all the starch behind.

 

[marc1]

I can mix the ginger juice into the water and sugar mixture, but the juice will settle after a day. Is there no way to emulsify or stabilize the soda?

When I extract the ginger juice, I pass it through a fine-mesh strainer and discard the solids. I then let it sit for about an hour to allow the starch (white part) to settle. Finally, I pour that into another jar, leaving all the starch behind.

So, you let the juice sit to settle, then pour to another jar. If you let this new jar sit for a day or two in the fridge, will more particulates settle out? It could be that you haven't gotten the smallest ones that take the longest to settle, and then they are finally settling out once you mix up your drink.

Have you tried something like passing it through a paper coffee filter?

If you get rid of the particulate beforehand, you won't have to try make a colloid out if it, and you'll only be keeping the ginger extracts that are actually miscible in water.

If you really want to get the particulates homogenized permanently, you may have to research how to make food safe colloids. Emulsification is for liquids, and it sounds like what is settling out is not a liquid, so the emulsifier isn't working.

(I don't know how to do this with food; if these were bath bombs I'd tell you to try 1-2% polysorbate-80 by weight )

If you are convinced that gum arabic should work, try increasing percentages of it in your ginger juice first. When you get a % that works for that you can move forward with further diluting with water and sugar.

Edit: I did some quick interweb searches. If I was set on doing this I'd try Xanthan gum, too.

 

[punkdigerati]

I'm in a similar boat in wanting to get a stable ginger beer. I'm planning to try a variety of stabilizers such as methylcellulose, different gums, etc.
The catch for me is seeing commercial products that accept separation as normal and include directions to mix it in before consuming.
The major flavor compounds in ginger, which depend on preparation what all ends up in the product, all are only weakly water soluble. It may be that there needs to be some other extraction step to separate the solids while still retaining the gingerol, shaogol and zingerone present. I've considered siphoning off the liquid portion of the settled juice and adding ethanol to the remaining solids, but also considering trying an ethanol extract from the remaining pulp as well, major concern being keeping the total alcohol content of the finished product legally low.