Salad Dressing

Each year, our Gum Gurus^® field hundreds of questions from customers about all types of food and beverage applications. One of the applications they are most frequently asked about is salad dressings and the number of questions has only increased with manufacturers rushing to meet consumer demands surrounding label claims. Our Gum Gurus offer their recommendations for some common problems below:

"How can I remove PGA from my dressing?"

Once a frequently used, reliable emulsifier, thickener, and stabilizer for salad dressings, propylene glycol alginate (PGA) has fallen out of favor as consumers shy away from ingredients with unfamiliar names.
If you are charged with removing PGA from a salad dressing formulation, here are a few stabilizers to consider:

• Best choice: Saladizer 250—natural salad dressing stabilizer that creates a texture very similar to PGA
• Non-GMO option: Saladizer 210—natural and non-GMO salad dressing stabilizer blend that emulsifies and improves the mouthfeel of salad dressing
• Xanthan-free option: TICorganic Saladizer 100—100% certified organic stabilizer system that emulsifies and improves the mouthfeel of salad dressing. Note that this system is less tolerant of low pH ranges.

"How can I remove xanthan gum from my salad dressing?"

Xanthan gum is another ingredient that some consumers try to avoid. We often recommend TICorganic Saladizer 100 because it replaces much of the functionality of xanthan gum in salad dressing applications, however, this system is less tolerant of low pH ranges than xanthan gum. To compensate for this, your usage level may need to be adjusted to reach the desired viscosity in an acidic dressing.

We also offer Non-GMO Project Verified Xanthan Gum, if that meets your labeling needs. 

How can I remove eggs from my mayonnaise-type dressing?

Since eggs contribute to various functional roles in foods, there really isn't a one-to-one replacement for all that they do. The difficulty in replacing eggs is assessing their functional role in a given application because they could be responsible for functionalities as diverse as gel formation after heating, film formation, or emulsification. This understanding of the eggs' functionality within a formula is required whether the goal is complete or partial replacement.

While it can be a challenge to replace the functionality of eggs in mayonnaise-type dressings, our Gum Gurus have formulated several stabilizer systems that replace the necessary texture and emulsification properties.

Stabilizers for Mayonnaise-type Dressings

• Saladizer^® Mayo Cold Set
  • Builds viscosity and enhances texture in fat-free and low-fat mayonnaise-type dressings; cold water soluble
  • Typical usage level: 5.00-7.00%
• TICorganic^®Saladizer^® 100
  • Emulsifies and thickens; 100% certified organic
  • Typical usage level: 0.60 - 1.00%

Talk with our Gum Gurus about your specific stabilizer needs

Selecting a food stabilizer for any application is never a one-size-fits-all situation. Salad dressing formulations or manufacturing processes vary, even if just slightly, from those in the same category.

Our Gum Gurus are always available to help you select a stabilizer that meets your specific needs. You can reach them via our technical service hotline (800) 899-3953/+1 (410) 273-7300 or online chat. Once you connect with a Gum Guru, they'll ask several questions about your salad dressing application:

• What is the pH of your salad dressing?
• What is the oil level in your formulation?
• Do you have any labeling requirements like All-natural, kosher, organic, or non-GMO?