Technically, gellan gum is a type of exopolysaccharide produced by certain types of bacterial fermentation, specifically using the culture called Sphingomonas elodea.
Lily pads naturally produce small amounts of gellan gum because they’re home to this specific bacterial strain. The gellan gum used in different industrial and food-manufacturing practices is created in a lab through commercial fermentation on a much larger scale.
As a polysaccharide, gellan gum is a long chain of carbohydrate-based molecules. Chemically, this makes it similar to other food products that are used to bind ingredients together, including flour or starch. You’ll find gellan gum in a range of common food products, including dairy-free milk alternatives, chocolate milks, yogurts, desserts, vegan products, whipped toppings, spreads or purees, and noodles — all of which depend on gellan gum or other stabilizers to keep ingredients from separating.
One of the reasons this additive has gained notoriety in food manufacturing is that it only needs to be used in small amounts and can withstand higher temperatures while keeping a consistent viscosity compared to other thickeners. Replacing the additive called agar is one of the most common uses for gellan gum, since it has similar effects with roughly half the amount used.
Today, two primary types of gellan gum are manufactured for different uses, depending on the end-goal. These are called high- and low-acyl content gellan gums, which are commonly used together in various ratios to help form different textures. Low-acyl gellan gum products help create textures that are firmer and more brittle, while high-acyl gellan gum forms softer and more elastic textures that have a higher viscosity. Depending on the concentration of these gellan gums, it’s possible to create a wide variety of textures/structures due to how their gelling ions work to absorb and hold liquid.
