What are xanthan gum and/or guar gum?
Xanthan gum is a powder milled from the dried cell coat of a microorganism called Xanthomonas campestris grown under laboratory conditions. Xanthan gum is produced by fermenting corn sugar with Xanthomonas campestris. It acts as a gluten substitute. Guar gum is a powder derived from the seed of a plant called cyamopsis tetragonolobus. It is sometime used as a laxative and is not as good of a substitute for gluten as xanthan gum.