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Friday, June 10, 2011

Why Are We Eating This?!

I am too poor for Xanthan gum. It's $15.99 for a one-pound bag. Since most gluten-free baking recipes call for about one teaspoon of the stuff, this bag will last about a hundred years. What's wrong with that, you ask?

For starters, I don't really know what it is. I know that it's a mysterious white powder from a food engineering plant in Iowa. Xanthan gum was corn, once upon a time. Not only is corn an insidious vegetable that has woven its silky tendrils in everything from dog food to gasoline, it can be very hard to digest if you've got any sort of digestive issue.

The philosopher Wikipedia in his infinite wisdom had this to say on Xanthan gum:
Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide, derived from the bacterial coat of Xanthomonas campestris, used as a food additive and rheology modifier,[2] commonly used as a food thickening agent (in salad dressings, for example) and a stabilizer (in cosmetic products, for example, to prevent ingredients from separating). It is produced by fermentation of glucose, sucrose, or lactose by the Xanthomonas campestris bacterium. After a fermentation period, the polysaccharide is precipitated from a growth medium with isopropyl alcohol, dried, and ground into a fine powder. Later, it is added to a liquid medium to form the gum.[3]
You had me at precipitation from growth medium. Color me hungry.

Nothing makes a plant by-product more appetizing than knowing it's a primary ingredient in my cosmetic products. Sometimes, I like to munch on my facial cleanser if I'm too lazy to call for takeout.

The thing that really gets my goat is that it's ubiquitous in gluten-free, vegan cooking. It's everywhere from About.com to my holy grail, the BabyCakes NYC cookbook. As far as I can tell, there is nothing inherently beneficial to one's health in using Xanthan gum. Is there a better way?

As far as I'm concerned, yes.

It's kuzuko, or powdered kudzu root. Studies have shown that in addition to smothering your house and crushing your abandoned backyard automobiles, this super-plant can actually alleviate symptoms of excessive alcohol consumption, lessen alcohol cravings, strengthen the intestine to soothe diarrhea, and reduce bad "surface heat."

It's also awesome in cupcakes.

I know where it came from... Probably the side of a highway in Arkansas. I make a mean gravy with it. I feel good about serving it to my friends and family. It's a traditional Chinese herb. It's not corn. And maybe if we eat it, it'll stop eating us.


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