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On April 17th, Kevin Haney wrote:

> One thing I'm surprised that I haven't read about is that the
> xanthan gum has a very strong smell.

We've been using xanthan gum for a couple of years now, and
we've never noticed any odor.  We keep ours refrigerated, though
we know of others that don't.  Could the batch you bought be
spoiled?

> I used 1-1/2 tsp. to three cups of flour.

We generally use about 3/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup of
flour.  We also add about a teaspoon of methylcellulose per cup
of flour.  This combination has worked well for us.

We've never used guar gum.  It can be used in equal amounts to
replace xanthan gum, however it is said to have a laxative
effect.

Toni Richardson, our group's resident cook extraordinaire, has
been experimenting of late with Clear Gel in place of
methylcellulose.  It has the advantage of being much cheaper and
more readily available than methylcellulose.

> I finally found some xanthan gum in a local health food store
> ($12.50 for 5.6 ounces - is that good/bad?)

Here is what we've paid for these additives, and where we got
them:

   xanthan gum:      $9.25/8 oz.  Miss Roben's 1-800-891-0083
   guar gum:         $6.00/8 oz.  Miss Roben's
   Clear Gel:        $2.49/lb.    from a kitchen specialty store
   methylcellulose: $10.70/8 oz.  Ener-G Foods 1-800-331-5222

                   --- Jim Lyles ([log in to unmask]) ---