Carrageenans are high-molecular-weight polysaccharides that are extracted from Chondrus, Eucheuma and

relevant red edible seaweeds. It can be widely used in the food industry as gelling agent, thickener, stabilizer and

emulsifier.

Carrageenans have three main varie??es: Kappa, Iota and Lambda. Kappa-Carrageenan forms a strong and hard gel

in the presence of potassium ions; Lota-Carrageenan interacts with calcium ions to form a so??, elas??c gel;

Lambda-Carrageenan does not form a gel and is mainly used to thicken dairy products.