Xanthan gum. Anybody use this?
Can be added hot or cold. Add small amounts while stirring to keep it from clumping. Too much and stuff gets stringy/snotty, so go easy.
I love that stuff! Our local walmart sells a yeast sachet sized packet in the GF section for less than a dollar. In the quantities i use, a pack lasts me a year.
As you mention it's strong stuff. A 1/8t is more than enough to gel a cup of sauce. I always add it very slowly while mixing or whisking because it clumps insanely bad.
It made a world of difference in my homemade ice cream. It totally solved the issue of grainy icy texture and stability. It never gets hard frozen anymore and never gets freezer burn. I hear carrageenan and guar are a better combination for ice cream but i haven't tried yet. I wouldn't even make homemade ice cream again unless i had it on hand. It's a game changer.
I also use it in some real mayo (light mayo doesn't need it) based sauces that I've had issues with it breaking if left overnight in the fridge. Again, problem solved. I just used some yesterday for this purpose.
I've had less success with it in marinades and dressings. It's highly effective for thickening but it seems to dull the flavors horribly. I've given up on it for that. I tried to use it in place of corn starch slurry for an asian sauce once.... that was a disaster.
My wife's ex-SIL uses a metric f-ton in baked goods since she's glutarded and swears it's about the only way to make breads, cookies, etc hold together.
---EDIT: Ice Cream Recipe ----
480g heavy whipping cream
480g 2% milk
2t vanilla (for vanilla, or other flavor extract instead)
150g sugar
30g light corn syrup
2.2g xanthan gum
4 XL egg yolks
Whisk sugar and xanthan gum together (this will prevent clumps). Add egg yolks and whisk until mixture starts to turn a lighter yellow. Set aside.
Bring milk and cream to bare simmer. Remove from heat and temper some of the dairy into the eggs until the temperature is raised. Add the rest of the dairy and return the mixture to low heat until it reaches 170F, whisky near constant but slowly.
Remove from heat, cover and chill overnight.
Before churning, add flavor extract of choice. Most of these flavor extracts and oils are quite volatile so if you add earlier in the process they get evaporated off during final cook. This is the better time to add.
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