Re: Question: water-soluble thickeners

From: Ron Jones (ron_at_ronjones.org.uk)
Date: 03/29/05 

Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 00:32:09 +0100

aupward@hotmail.com wrote:
> Hi all, I have a quick question.
>
> I'm looking for food additive information for an art project. The
> goal is to use a water soluble thickener to form a large transparent
> block of material.
>
> Can anyone recommend a bulk thickening or gelling agent which would
> form a stable, transparent block at room temperature?
>
> The more economical, the better.
>
> Thanks kindly for any help you can provide,
> Allen

First define transparent. ISTR we have had this question (in a different
guise) last year. Most of the gelling agents will give opelescent, not
transparent - Gelatin, not bad, slow to set needs IIRC 10-15% by mass.
Agar-agar, much better, IIRC 1% sets well, and sets really rapidly (I
remember pouring blood agar plates in bacteriology, and you add the blood,
mix, pour immediatly when you can hold the bottle of melted agar sloution
against one's cheek), and they set as straight away, need to hold agar
"solution" at 100C for ages to re-melt (or 130C for 10min in autoclave) 

-- 
-- 
Ron Jones
Don't repeat history, see unreported near misses in chemical lab/plant
at http://www.crhf.org.uk