ChefSteps Nerd Alert: All About Xanthan Gum 

Nice explanation. It is so much easier to learn this stuff from a video, compare to reading it from a webpage or book. Thanks for doing this.

I love my Xanthan gum. The fact that it is a thickener and a stabilizer at both hot and cold temperatures and also has a neutral flavour means it has almost completely replaced my other starch thickeners. It's also a lot faster as you don't need to waste time with slurries etc. I used it in a honey, mustard and pineapple sauce last night and was completely enamoured by it's viscosity. Perfectly clear sauce, allowing all the ingredients to stand out individually, but with just the right amount of 'clinginess' to be able to plate and present with absolute confidence and control.

i like this guy, sounds like he's been teaching/recording videos for a long time. very personable

as a junior cook, please continue to do this type of tutorials that let us understand :D thankyou!

Xanthan gum: What is that stuff? How do you use it? ChefSteps founder Chris Young breaks it down.

Fun fact: Soils can be thixotrophic too. That's why whenever the base (fundament) for any building is made they use heavy machinery to compact the soil very tightly underneath. Otherwise the the soil could turn "liquid" due to the vibration/stress during construction. Just google for sinking buildings. You should find plenty ;)

Make more videos like this that go more in depth.

I've known this additive since I was a kid, always read the ingredient labels of everything I found because I've always liked finding out what's in food.

Wow! This is the first chef's video I've seen that expresses the weight of an ingredient as a percent of another ingredient! I really appreciate that, so few folks in the U.S. measure by weight, but I'm one who does. Usually I have to make conversions, but 0.5% of the water weight gives me an initial number I can use in my recipe spreadsheets without making tedious volume-to-weight conversions. Really, thank you!

Great video, and so nice to see Chris again. Please, make it even more nerdy! Use your superior graphics and illustration skills combined with Chris' scientific prowess to illustrate the molecular mechanisms.

This is timely - I was speaking to my gluten free friend in my food technology class today, and I mentioned using xanthan gum in her gluten free baking, but she had never heard of it. This has helped me understand it as a product, and so now I can actually explain it to her without being unsure (: Thank you!

Gotta say I love the way Chris presented this video

ok I just asked you guys about this in the last video and you make a whole video about it? I feel a little too special for this to be a coincidence

I love to use Xanthan Gum, the textures for different cold sauces, creams, is just so nice.

Good and simple video. Nice job, thanks!

More videos like this please! and very happy to see Chris

please do more of these kinds of videos. I love all your videos where you discuss the science behind the cooking.

Great video, please do more of these with Chris!!!

Perfect! FINALLY FOUND SIMPLE EXPLANATION ON PROPORTION for Xantham Gum !!! THANK YOU!

It would be great if you guys could make more videos like this, and have more in depth topics on the subjects of more modernist ingredients and hydrocolloids. as of right now its very difficult to make our own recipes using such ingredients because the information on how to use them is so sparse.

Wish I could work with these guys. Such a passionate and creative group of people!

I thought this was awesome. I love learning about ingredients and how they work. I have been using xanthan gum in smoothies for a while now. I'd absolutely love to see videos like this on other thickening agents, their properties and how to choose the right one for the job.

ground chia seeds works well too

Would love to see an episode for other thickeners as well. One on agar, ultratex, gellan. Would be great! Thanks guys

this video is awesome and extremely helpful, would like to have more vids like this to come in the near future! :)

we use this all the time to bake for people with wheat allergies. so you're suggesting this may be helpful in thickening something like a hot sauce? maybe I'll have to test that out on a video on my channel.

We use it in old age homes here in canada to feed residents and patients with dysphasia. We thicken water, juice, milk with it.

The shear thinning property of xanthan gum is called pseudoplastic and not thixotrophic. Solutions of Xanthan Gum immediately get back to the same viscosity when shear or stirring or pouring is stopped

I use it for thickening my fermented hot sauces. Just a bit gives a runny sauce an easy flow and stay consistency.

Great info and insight. Just wondering, could I use this instead of flour when making creamed beef (military sos type)? If so, would I blend it into the milk before adding to the beef or add it as if I'm making a roux? Thanx for your expert insights!

i love you guys! keep up the good work? do you guys have a cooking school?

It doesn’t need the immersion blender to mix if you disperse it into fat instead of water. I hold back a little of the fat I’m using in a recipe and stir the xanthan gum into it. It doesn’t clump, i don’t get unwanted aeration from thr immersion blender and everything plays nicely.

thanks for the video..i feel like i read a PhD thesis on starches and thats a beautiful thing!

For free-gluten muffin baking, do we dissolve xanthan gum in the water first (e.g like this video) and followed by the dry ingredients OR do we straight away mix xanthan gum with the dry ingredients? Please do more videos on xanthan gum in baking. Thank you for sharing :)

great video, now do one for msg!

I thought corn starch was used! this is the first time i heard of this the most important thing wasn't said what does it taste like and can you use this instead of corn starch?

The property you are describing is viscosity, not thixotropy. A substance is called thixotropic when it is solid at rest and becomes liquid when exposed to shear. In other words a thixotropic substance is thick at rest and gets thinner as it is being disturbed.

Awesome! Do more this kind of tutorials for chems you are using!!! :D

Wonderfull. give more info like this please :)

Glad I know all about xanthum gum now! So glad it only took a minute and a half

Another fun fact infants and children I think under the age of one or two shouldn't have xanthan gum as some Studies have shown xanthan gum to be a cause of colon cancer or colon degradation in infants

Wow! Thanks for this!

What model of scale are you using in that video? Would it be possible to have you do a video on the various measurement equipment you are all using in the ChefSteps kitchen?

Thank you so much. How to store after opening

Excellent video, thank you. I'm not a foodi, so can you tell me that if you are using 200 grams of water, is that a weight measurement or a liquid measured in a measuring cup?

Does xanthum gum act differently in hot vs cold liquid? (Like how gravy gets thicker as it cools)

It's great in an egg nog that mixes custard and whipped cream as it will keep the two from separating.

I just made some amazing juniper and lavender incense using this as a binder, a little bit goes a long way. This is going to bring back more hand rolled incense! Will try in my next bread and pizza recipes to replace yeast as well. Yeast is tacky, hard to clean and back up your works.

YES!! something nerdy for advanced cooks!!

Very informative thanks

Could you guys please do a tutorial on how to use a siphon gun and how to charge it

Could you please tell me what blender do you use here? Looks like it helps to avoid extra air bubbles, I need one like this!

More content like this would be great!

Is it possible to make up a batch of this and keep it in the fridge until you need it? If so how long would it last?

chef steps return to your roots of beautiful food and cinematography without so much talk

At the end you show a drink,im looking into making that whipped coffee but with thai tea since i do not drink coffee... ill do some more research but will this work?

The man himself! Great vid.

Does xanthum gum affect the effectivity of ingredients within a liquid formula or does it only alter the viscosity?

who makes/where can I buy the double walled mugs you guys use? They look relatively sturdy. Are they?

great video, bring on more nerd alerts!

Hi Chris Young and Chefsteps! I am using Xantham gum for body wash but when I mix the gum it has tons of air bubbles. is there a way to have that clear look and feel the way you get from regularly sold soaps and washes?

As a Biochemist now experimenting with cooking and gastronomy, I would travel around the planet, from my country Chile, just to work with you guyz

the don of chefsteps right here

Sooooo ,is it safe? because I heard it wasn't due 2 the bacteria (bad) that it produces in the digestive system

Does it work as an emulsifier replacement for lecithin?

hi, one should use xanthan gum or ghar gum for a thick milkshake, and in what ratio?

More more more more more please!

Nice info, I tried to use xanthan gum but a lot of air bubbles got trapped while mixing it with hand blender. I also tried hand mixer as well but the same result. Please let me know how to mix it without the air getting trapped inside?

hi , my question was is it fine if I use xanthan gum in the sauces without cooking the sauces and then freeze the sauces and use it in the one year shelf life . will this be any food safety issue . please let me know.thanks ,

My biggest question is... Can you use it to make gumbo for people who are gluten-free? My friend cannot have gluten. I would highly appreciate it if you guys could respond or experiment this.

So should we use it instead of corn starch which thickens the sauces ?

Hi! Would like to ask for your suggestion if I want to thicken a juice concentrate. 1% is 1 tsp of Xanthan Gum with 200mL water? Thanks!

Being on a Keto diet and was looking for a non carb thickener, first time I tried it I wanted to thicken a gravy and ended up with a glob it didn’t dissolve, it must be blended in water as shown in the video and then added to a gravy. 😳

I’m a new follower thank u for the tip 🎉🎉🎉

You have to be careful with it because it clumps easily. It emulsifies beautifully in oil.

NERDS!!! But seriously this is great stuff. More please :)

I have read many articles on Xantham gum. Some were not bad others say stay away from it. I still don't know about it so I won't eat anything with it in it.

Good to see I'm not the only one who was fed up with the cord on my Bamix :-D

Just courious, but does this carry any flavor of it's own? This could be a great replacement for cornstarch as a thickening agent or flour?

Hi Chef. How if their pouring into honey? For making of hard candy

Thank you!👌

I wonder if I can add this to egg whites to make a batter for french toast?

Is there a proper way to store Xanthan gum? Like how chefs tell you to put a slice of apple in a brown sugar jar to keep the sugar from drying out.

Can I use it in gluten-free bread baking to get that gluten texture?

Can I use it to make syrup, I mean if I use it with stevia?

hello!! nice video, actually i have a challenge for you guys i need a pizza dough and cinnamon rolls but also need gluten free, dairy free, nut free and egg free sounds crazy right? i tried to do that and fail i used rice flour for my cinnamon rolls and oatmeal flour too So this is my challenge for you i know you gonna make it :) good luck!!

Will there be more nice tricks how to use hydrocolloids and thickeners in class that you're making. Like Grant's "not a latte"

Thank you Soooooooooo Much

I'm a cooking NERD, so this is right up my street. I still don't know why it's called for in a keto (flourless) bread I make. The main ingredient is wheat gluten.

I just came across your video while investigating uses for xanthan gum in some of my favorite vegan recipes. I also discovered that some xanthan gum is derived from eggs. So I’ll check the manufacturer before I try it. Hello vegan gravy! LOL, thanks for sharing 😋

What was that last latte looking drink? That’s clever if it is what it looks like...

Can i use it as a binding agent eg to bind a burger meat n what the ratio of usage . Tqvm

I used it with cold water and nothing happened, do I have to use it with hot/warm water or do i need to heated it up after mixing to get the liquid to thicken?

How does this compare with carrageenan, another thickener which may be carcarcinogenic and may cause gastrointestinal symptoms?

What is the ratio for adding it to food ? Have a video for this

So, it thins out to pour, but once immobile resume its thicker consistency. Was this stuff MADE for sauces??? That seems too good to be true.

saying white powders are unfamiliar to Americans with a straight face is some skill-full mental gymnastics right there

In the US, we tend to measure by volume, not weight. Can you tell us the ratio of, for example, X mL of salad dressing to X mL of xanthum gum?

Was that thickened coffee in the last video frame?

@0:10 "chief executive nerd" Bahaha xD