DESCRIPTION
Product: Arabic Gum
Latin Name: Acacia Senegal syn. Senegalia Senegal.
Plant Family: Fabaceae
Other Names: Gum Arabic, Acacia Gum, Gum Senegal Tree, Chaar Gund, Char Goond, Meska, CapeGum, Goma Arábiga, Gomme Acacia, Gomme Arabique, Gomme d’Acacia, Gum Acacia, Khadir, Kher, Kumatia, Rfaudraksha, Hashab & Egyptian Thorn.
Description: Our High Quality Arabic Gum is not treated by heat and is in its natural state and comes from a deciduous shrubby tree native to the semi-desert regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as north-western India. The tree reaches a height of between 7-15 metres; the bark of older trees is gnarly and dark grey in colour, smooth on younger trees. The leaves are bi-pinnate, up to 2.5cm in length and comprised of 3-8 paired pinnacles each with 5-25 pairs of leaflets, each leaflet is 1-9mm in length and light to mid-green in colour. The tree flowers only during the rainy season, the 5-petaled, 2-lipped flowers form spiked drooping panicles approximately 5-10cm in length and yellowish-white in colour. The fruits 1.5-9cm in length, and are flat, papery and yellowish to brown in colour.
SUGGESTED USE
Arabic gum is a complex mixture of polysaccharides (sugars) and glycoproteins which make it ideally suited to making glues which are edible. It is used in the manufacture of confectionary, and is favoured by cake decorators for fixing edible flowers and decorations to cakes. It’s been used as a ‘lickable’ adhesive on items such as stickers, envelopes and postage stamps, in the manufacture of paints, inks and pigments. The cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries use it as a binding agent and emulsifier.
SHELF LIFE
Shelf life of two years provided that goods are stored in an airtight container in ambient conditions.
