Low-acyl gellan gum

Gomme gellane basse acyle

What it is

It is not a seaweed extract at all but a bacterial one, from a Sphingomonas isolated in the 1970s from still water — the epithet elodea comes from the pondweed it was found on. Low-acyl gellan sets clear and brittle and, unlike gelatine or agar, stays standing well above 70 °C, which is what makes a hot gelled garnish possible.

In the kitchen

Disperse it cold, hold it above 90 °C for a minute to hydrate, and it will set as it falls past about 40 °C — fast enough that a warmed mould is worth having. At 0.5 % it slices clean; hard tap water sets it lumpy, so use distilled or a pinch of sodium citrate first.

Goes with

Sodium citrate Calcium chloride Xanthan gum Truffle juice Olive oil Lemon Tomato

Same species

High-acyl gellan gum

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