Project X

The English language is certainly limited in the number of words that begin with the letter X. And when it comes to food, there really are, well, none. Without resorting to foreign languages for food name translations, the only food item that I could conjure up in my head was xanthan gum, which isn’t much of a food item anyway.

We see it often as an ingredient in many packaged and prepared foods. Just because it begins with an X doesn’t mean it’s a harmful additive. The rule, “if you can’t pronounce it, don’t it eat,” should be modified a bit. What if you are a scientist and study chemical compounds so rigorously that they become second language to you. Should you eat unhealthy, chemically processed foods just because you can pronounce them? No! And contrastingly, what if you have a speech impediment and have trouble pronouncing even the simplest of words. Should you eat nothing at all? Clearly not!

Xanthan gum (pronounced zan-thumb gum), although it sounds intimidating, can easily be enunciated by most people and should not cause alarm if it is listed as an ingredient in your food. It is simply a chemically processed carbohydrate that serves as a thickening agent in many items, like soup, yogurt, or salad dressing. Yes, it is not organic or naturally occurring, but it has not been proven to be harmful to the body. Like all foods, xanthan gum should be consumed in moderation, but does not have to be completely avoided. Because it is a modified carbohydrate, it contains neither fat nor protein, only fiber. Many gluten-free dieters substitute xanthan gum for flour or other gluten-based thickening agents when preparing recipes because it contains essentially the same properties as wheat flour when it comes to adding substance and body to a sauce or another dish. Before assuming that xanthan gum can be substituted in any recipe, perfor
m a bit of research, especially for baking projects.