Common Thickening Agents Used in Food

March 25, 2025

Thickeners are widely used to make many foods thicker and with a more stable structure by contributing to those aspects in many products. Generally, these agents confer the right viscosity and mouthfeel for such application areas as soups and sauces, dairy products, and baked confectionery products. They have the advantage of stopping the ingredients from mixing and in some cases the product shelf-life. The roles of thickening agents can be summed up and broken down into better control of food quality and production processes where various kinds of thickening agents are used.

What are Food Thickening Agents?

The most common definition of food thickening agents is macromolecular substances, which dissolve in water and swell or gel under certain conditions to form a viscous, slippery, or jelly-like fluid. These above thickening agents are used in food to thicken its viscosity, adhesion, gel formation, hardness, brittleness, and emulsification stability. They are the feeling on which the texture, shape, or pick-up of food is based to become thick, soft, crisp, or sticky. Food thickening agents are also used in food preparation as thickness builders, also referred to as viscosity builders, gelling agents, stabilizers, suspend agents and edible gums.

Thickening agent is defined as a substance that has been used to alter the structure of food to reach its optimum physical condition. They are very crucial in determining the right stability and texture in soups, sauces, gravies, desserts, or bakery products among others. Food thickeners help to improve the quality of eating mouthfeel both on solid and liquid foods. While some are for the purpose of gelation some are to emulsify or suspend the aqueous phase. These agents besides serving the purpose of ensuring that a product retains its texture also play the role of preserving food by preventing syneresis (formation of two or more layers of liquids in a product).

Types of Food Thickening Agents

1. Natural Thickening Agents:
Plant Polysaccharides: Pectin, gum arabic, guar gum, locust bean gum
Seaweed Polysaccharides: Agar, sodium alginate, carrageenan
Microbial Polysaccharides: Xanthan gum
Animal-Based Protein: Gelatin

2. Synthetic Thickening Agents:
Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC gum)
Propylene glycol alginate
Modified starch

How Do Food Thickening Agents Work?

About the role of thickening agents used in food, it can be stated that it is a result of various effective functional mechanisms:

Gel formation: Creating a three-dimensional space network structure.
Interaction reduction: Changing viscosity in the presence of other components added.
Synergistic effects: It is important to note that some thickening agents used in combination offer better result.

However, in most instances, only a single thickening agent for food is not effective enough for the purpose it is intended for and therefore can have other thickeners added to make it Marinate. For instance, when carrageenan is used, it may be combined with locust bean gum to gain a more stable gel, or when xanthan gum and guar gum are blended to enhance viscosity as well as avoid the separation of various ingredients.

Thickening Agents Used in Food

Rheology Modification: This helps to create food texture and improve the look of the product, which will make it more appealing to the eye and taste pleasant to the palate.
Stability Improvement: This helps in the prevention of separation in products such as yogurt from the coagulation of protein.
Foaming and Stability: Enhances the ability to keep air, commonly applied in ice creams.
Film Formation: Used in controlling the formation of films in food coatings.
Water Retention: Improves the hydration of flour-based products.

List of Thickening Agents Used in Food

Guar Gum

Structure: A natural thickening agent extracted from seeds of guar beans which forms a colloidal solution having high viscosity.
Properties: It dissolves in water, does not change when the pH value is altered, and has shear-thinning properties.
Uses: Thickening agent for food, thickening agent for drinks, and stabilizers and emulsifiers in food.

Guar gum is popularly used in the food industry because it is relatively cheaper and can thicken well. It is widely used as a gelling agent or food thickener in dairy products, bakery products, and other sauces. Moreover, it has a role in gluten-free baking where it prevents dough from becoming rigid and stiff.

Gum Arabic

Structure: A natural thickening agent weakly acidic with a complex molecular configuration.
Properties: The substance is highly soluble in water and maintains a stable pH between 4-8.
Uses: Acts as a food thickener emulsifier, and stabilizer in confectionery and soft drinks.

Currently, gum Arabic can be used in carbonated beverages, candies, and desserts. It should be noted that it is utilized in food products as a natural thickening agent that aids in the combination of ingredients, as well as for stabilizing the sugar and giving a suitable mouth feel in the beverages.

Pectin

Structure: A polymer of galacturonic acid.
Properties: This food additive is a Gel-forming food additive that is more stable in acidic solutions.
Uses: Used in desserts, food thickeners, and gelling agents in confections.

Gelatin

Structure: It is a gelling agent obtained from proteins in the collagen group.
Properties: When exposed to cold water, rises while it dissolves in hot water.
Uses: Used in desserts, food thickeners, and confections.

Gelatin is applied as a stabilizer; in making desserts; marshmallows and confectionery goods, specifically gummy candies. It makes thermoreversible gel and provides mouth melt in mouth feel that can improve the sensory characteristic of gelatin-based food products.

Xanthan Gum

Structure: A polysaccharide with high viscosity.
Properties: Excellent suspension and emulsification abilities.
Uses: Found in salad dressings, sauces, and baked goods.

Xanthan gum is well applied in the gluten-free bakery as a replacer for gluten which enhances the texture of the products such as bread and pastries. It is also used as a thickening agent for sauces and salad dressings.

Carrageenan

Structure: A seaweed-derived polysaccharide.
Properties: Forms thermally reversible gels.
Uses: Used in dairy products, plant-based milk, and processed meats.

Carrageenan has various uses in the dairy segment, including as a dairy substitute for almond and soy milk, for enhancing the mouthfeel and suspension properties.

Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC)

Structure: A chemically modified thickening agent that finds application in the processed foods industry.
Properties: Possess good water absorption capacity, and increase the viscosity of the product.
Uses: Used in sauces, bakery items, and thickening agents for drinks.

CMC or Sodium CMC in Food Processed products has the function of stabilizing emulsions, thus ensuring that the different ingredients do not separate.

Preventing Ice Crystals with Thickening Agents

Locust bean and guar gum are some of the thickening agents used in foods in frozen confectionery to avoid the formation of large ice crystals. This is felt especially in products such as ice creams and frozen yogurt SDIs such as food thickening agents help to give a creamy texture.

Conclusion

There are two types in this list of natural thickening agents such as synthetic thickening agents and natural thickening agents and they are used in the food industry in different capacities. Food thickeners enhance the viscosity, body, and stability of numerous foods in particular dairy products, bakery goods, and frozen confectionery. Knowledge of the functional properties of thickening agents for sauces, drinks, and other foods can improve the quality of food and the level of customer satisfaction. To get the detailed information customers need to contact Mondstar team.