Kerry delivers cost-effective replacement for in-demand carob gum

15-Sep-2022 - Last updated on 15-Sep-2022 at 14:41 GMT

Kerry's Sherex Supreme is said to provide the benefits of carob gum, at up to half the price of the plant ingredient. Image: GettyImages/MEDITERRANEAN

The alternative costs up to 50% less than the real thing but delivers the functional benefits that ice cream makers have come to expect from the sought-after natural stabilizer.

Food ingredients specialist Kerry Group has developed a cost-effective alternative to locust bean gum (LBG), the natural stabilizer used by ice cream makers to increase viscosity and prevent ice and lactose crystal from forming in hard pack ice cream.

The solution, named Sherex Supreme, reportedly delivers the same benefits but at up to 50% of the cost of the plant-derived ingredient. Kerry’s product is comprised of LBG, guar gum and mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids – ingredients that are already present on many ice cream labels, meaning there would be limited to no impact on labeling.

To test the new texture system’s performance, Kerry has carried out trials on premium, budget and standard hard-pack ice creams. In each recipe tested, Sherex provided the taste and texture attributes of traditional ice cream, Kerry claims. For example, when examining properties such as viscosity, particle size, mix stability, overrun and sensory appeal, the company found its solution ‘achieved or exceeded’ the desired results in all three categories. Blind-testing also showed nine out of 10 panelists found no difference in sensory qualities such as texture, mouthfeel, aftertaste and smoothness.

Tricia Hayes, Kerry’s global senior director - emulsifiers, texture systems and gum acacia, reflected: “Kerry’s Sherex Supreme is a texture system that delivers the creamy mouthfeel, good aeration, desired viscosity and controlled meltdown that consumers expect from ice cream while offering up to 50% cost savings versus standard texture systems. Most importantly, Sherex Supreme maintains the indulgent rich ice cream taste so prized by consumers.”

Locust bean gum, or carob gum as it's also known, is derived from splitting and milling the seeds of carob trees. The ingredient functions as a natural plant-based emulsifier and gelling agent and requires minimal processing, meeting requirements for clean labelling.

All of this has contributed to its rising popularity among both dairy and plant based ice cream producers, but supply has not kept up with demand as it takes 10 years for a carob tree to bear the LBG-producing pods. This has pushed the cost of carob gum exponentially, with Kerry stating it has risen by 800% in the past five years alone. The supply-demand imbalance has prompted a search for alternatives, with tara gum touted as one such option, but the availability of that natural additive is also limited.

“Sherex Supreme decreases both dependence and pressure on LBG raw material supplies, mitigates price inflation for ice cream products, and helps protect market share for manufacturers - all with no changes to the label or manufacturing process,” Hayes added.

“We’re proud to release this innovation to address a pressing economic issue for ice cream makers, delivering a highly positive benefit: a 50% savings that can help ice cream manufacturers combat growing cost pressures. Kerry’s research and development team continues to work intensively on a wide range of similarly exciting innovations for use in many different foods and beverage applications," she concluded.