Stabilizing Mousse with Guar/Xanthan Gum

[allisonr]

I'm trying to find ways to make my holiday chocolate mousse more stable and not worry about weeping or deflation while it's out on a buffet in a warm house. I'm thinking either xanthan or guar gum as they do in ice creams, but not sure if either of them have advantages over the other. My recipe is very classic and begins with a pate a bomb. Does anyone have any experience using stabilizers with pate a bomb? Can you add it to the sugar before you boil it, or do add it to the eggs after you add the sugar? How do I calculate how much gum I need?

[bushwickgirl]

This pdf has recipes using various hydrocolloids and you may be able to piece together amounts. If anything, it's an interesting read. From my perusal through it, it seems like you don't need much guar gum, it has 8 times the thickening power of cornstarch, nor would you add it to the sugar before boiling, but rather after the mixture has cooled somewhat:

www.khymos.org/hydrocolloid-recipe-co...

Good luck.

[goodhealthgourmet]

even in GF baking, guar and xanthan are best used with a *very* light hand. it varies with the recipe and the flour blend, but i never add more than a few grams by weight (1 tsp of guar ~ 3 grams).

kind of interesting to play around with it, but can result in A LOT of gummy product that gets thrown in the trash! ;)

[bushwickgirl]

"can result in A LOT of gummy product that gets thrown in the trash! ;)"

Not only that, but guar is also very shelf stable and keeps it's thickening powers forever...seemingly impossible stuff to use up without it ending up in the trash.

There was a post I noticed on a low carb website, writing rather disparagingly about the overwhelming thickening power of guar and xanthan, but I felt it was not constructive to quote, as I didn't really want to discourage the OP. My personal preference is gelatin or agar.

Here's an older thread on the subject, FWIW, it may have some useful info:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/3199...

[goodhealthgourmet]

thanks, i added it to my favorites & will take a look later. i've been using this stuff for long enough now that i've pretty much mastered it, but it's always interesting to read about other people's experiences.

[bushwickgirl]

Let us know what you think or want to comment on...This is really not an area I have much experience in, and probably never will, but it's helpful to know about.

[racer x]

Thanks, bushwickgirl.
That book is exactly what I've been looking for!

[goodhealthgourmet]

have you considered using gelatin or agar?