Guar gum is a thickener ground from a legume. Bean to powder, there is no animal step anywhere in it.
Made fromGuar beans (a legume)
E numberE412
VerdictVegan
Where it hides
Ice cream and frozen desserts
Gluten-free baking
Sauces, soups and dressings
Plant milks
What it is
Guar gum is milled from the seed of the guar plant, a drought-hardy legume grown mainly in India and Pakistan.
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Guar gum, also called guaran, is a galactomannan polysaccharide extracted from guar beans that has thickening and stabilizing properties useful in food, feed, and industrial applications.
Because it is simply ground and processed bean, guar gum is vegan. It often works alongside xanthan gum in gluten-free recipes, the two covering the structure that gluten would otherwise give.
Xanthan gum (E415)Xanthan gum is a thickener grown by bacteria on sugar. It is almost always vegan, with a rare asterisk over what the bacteria were fed.
Locust bean gum (carob gum, E410)Despite a name that sounds like an insect, locust bean gum is pure carob seed. It gives ice cream its scoopable chew.
Carrageenan (E407)Carrageenan is a thickener pulled from red seaweed. It has its critics on other grounds, but the vegan question is not one of them.
Frequently asked
Is E412 vegan?
Yes. E412 is guar gum, extracted from guar beans, so it is plant-based and vegan.
Is guar gum the same as xanthan gum?
They are different thickeners, guar from beans and xanthan from bacterial fermentation, and they are often used together. Both are vegan.
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