Carrageenan

Carrageenan, derived from the name of a place in Ireland called Carragin âwhere it was discovered, is a water soluble gel used mostly as a thickening and binding agent. It is a natural vegetable gelatin obtained from red algae and widely used in food, medicines, and research. Carrageenan has three (3) varieties of commercial interest: Kappa Iota Lambda A natural hydrocolloid, Kappa carrageenan is the most common variety used as an ingredient in household products and etc. Aside from being a thickening and binding agent, it is a suspending and emulsifying stabilizer. It also has pure gelling property that is found to be greatly suitable for food production industry. Kappa carrageenan has the following characteristics: Firm, brittle gel Soluble at 80 C Reactive with Potassium ions With minimum syneresis Strongly gelling As mentioned before, Kappa has the most number of uses among the three varieties of commercial carrageenan. It can be used in the following for its corresponding purposes: Frozen Desserts such as Ice cream and Ice popsicle Jelly Meat Dairy products such as Milk, Cheese and Yogurt Confectionery Beer Paint Toothpaste Air-freshener gel