Carrageenans

Carrageenans are polysaccharides (galactose) with a varying degree of sulfatation (between 15% and 40%). They are extracted from red seaweeds and are used as thermo reversible gelling and thickening agents, mainly in the food industry.

More than six hundred years ago, Irish moss was used in Carraghen on the south Irish coast for medicinal and food purposes. There, the moss was especially known for its unique property of gelling milk. It was used in a similar way on the coasts of Normandy and Brittany in France. Bleached lichen or "goémon blanc" (blanc-mange) flans were made simply by cooking seaweed in milk.

It was not until after the Second World War that extracts were manufactured industrially. Originally only extracted from Irish moss, today carrageenans are manufactured from numerous red seaweed species.

In general, three major types of carrageenans can be distinguished:

• Alcohol processed refined carrageenans
• Potassium chloride processed refined carrageenans
• Semi-refined carrageenan, also called PNG (Philippine Natural Grade) or PES (Processed Eucheuma Seaweed). This has only more recently been approved for food applications.