Safe and Useful Food Additive
Carrageenan what is it?
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Some of you may have heard of carrageenan, and yet you may not know what it is or what it is used for. Carrageenan is a food additive that comes from red seaweed. The way carrageenan is extracted is the seaweed is boiled in a non-acidic broth. Afterwards, the broth is filtered, and then once filtered the material obtained is milled into a fine powder. This powder form is what is able to be used in food.
What is Carrageenan used in?
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Now that you know how carrageenan is obtain, you may be wondering what it is used for. One of the most common uses for carrageenan is as a gelatin alternative for vegan food. This helps in the setting of deserts. It has more uses than just that however. It retains moister in different cooked meats, and it also is used in chocolate milk to suspend the chocolate.
Is it Safe?
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Carrageenan is 100% safe and is completely natural. There is some confusion out there however. This confusion comes about because in the past poligeenan has been miscalled carrageenan. Poligeenan is a foreign substance used in medical imaging. Poligeenan is made from carrageenan by putting it thru a harsh acid bath. The two substances are completely different from each other, but because of the same name being used it has led to confusion. Some may also fear that since poligeenan is made from carrageenan that they may get mixed up, but this will not happen due to the way poligeenan is made.
Conclusion
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You have probably been eating carrageenan almost every day and have not even realized it. This is okay because carrageenan is perfectly safe, and it is essential for us to be able to have certain foods.