Abstract
ι-Carrageenan forms a strong viscoelastic gel which releases a small amount of liquid by syneresis, but smells like seaweed. This study investigates the gelling abilities of ι-carrageenan with water and sugar or milk added, and attempts to form a preferred ι-carrageenan gel for practical use.
Added milk reduced the seaweed-like smell of ι-carrageenan gel, while markedly increasing the gel strength. The most desirable ι-carrageenan gel was obtained at the following concentrations of ι-carrageenan with the respective materials added; 1.8-2.0% with water; 1.2-1.4% with water and 15% sugar; 0.5-0.7% with water and 50% milk; 0.4-0.6% with water,42.5% milk and 15% sugar.
A desirable gel could be formed by using a ι-carrageenan and κ-carrageenan mixture, that had appropriate hardness, released a small amount of liquid by syneresis, and maintained the gel structure, The ratio for the most desirable gel with milk and sugar was 70-50% of the preferred κ-carrageenan concentration to 30-50% of the preferred ι-carrageenan concentration, respectively.
