25th SEA GAMES, Vientiane, Laos 2009

Sodium Alginate is an interesting ingredient in a majority of food products that the urban world is consuming. It is a compound comprised of alginate and sodium derivative. However, not many would have expected it to come from typical seaweed. Kelp or brown seaweeds are where alginates can be extracted from. The extract undergoes a complex process and eventually becomes the ingredient that the food industry is so familiar with. When it is extracted from brown algae, it then becomes purified carbohydrate and results into a thick substance.

The Many Uses of Sodium Alginate in Food
What is responsible for its many uses are its special properties particularly its ability to thicken easily and become viscous quickly once it is dissolved in cold or hot water. Another beneficial property is that it forms into a gel once in contact with calcium. In contrast with agar-agar gel, sodium alginate can thicken even when dissolved with a cold solution.

Sodium alginate is popularly used as a kind of food additives in popular foods like ice cream and caviar. It is used as a flavor and taste enhancer. It is also a common ingredient used for increasing the thickness of gravy and tapioca. Processed foods too have a high percentage of sodium alginate. Its thickening properties are so essential in the cooking industry especially in syrups, sauces, and some milk products.

Apart from its thickening properties, sodium alginate is also used as n effective anti-settling or stabilizer for milkshakes and ice creams. As an ice cream stabilizer, it is known to replace ingredients such as carrageenan and starch. What makes it useful in ice cream making is that it can prevent ice crystals and make the product tastier. It also helps in emulsifying and stabilizing a variety of salad dressing, tomato ketchup, canned products, and pudding jam. When used in dairy products such as all purpose cream, dry cheese, and refined cheese, it prevents the finished product from sticking to the product.

Furthermore, it can be used for creative cuisine applications. Chef Ferran Adria, a Catalan Chef popularized a process known as spherification process which greatly involves the use of food thickeners sodium alginate. This process involves the formation of a gelatinous wall surrounding a liquid sphere. These spheres will then magically burst in the mouth.

The compound is also commonly used as an ingredient for making vermicelli and noodle since it offers a strong cohesiveness property giving way for lesser breakage. Thus, it makes noodles more flexible and more fun to eat.