Xanthan Gum II

Here it is, a cream colored powder, the consistency of flour.

Trish said to get the smallest amount possible.  No choice, only one size on the shelf.

The small print on the front reads: Xanthan Gum is made from the outer layer of a tiny, inactive, bacterium called Xanthomonas Campestris (you already knew that, right?).  It is an excellent all-purpose thickener for dressings, gravies and sauces.  Its unique ability to hold small particles of food together makes it the ideal substitute for gluten in gluten-free baking.

Outer layer, it said.  In other words, epidermis.  Skin.  How the hell do you skin a tiny, inactive, bacterium?  Yeah, yeah, I know: very carefully!  But - ever so much easier than skinning active bacterium.  Those little buggers skitter around like a drop of water on a hot griddle.  Catching them is a real bitch.  Then you have to hog-tie 'em, get 'em under the microscope, skin 'em out, and release 'em back into the wild so they can grow a new outer layer. 

XG has numerous uses and we've all used it numerous times.  It's in cosmetics, shampoo, toothpaste, salad dressing, sauces, ice cream and, get this: it's a critical component of (oil) drilling mud. There you have it: everything you never knew (and couldn't care less that you didn't know) about XG.  Now, go forth and amaze your friends with your new found knowledge.