Food stabilizers are a class of food additives that enable food to be formed and maintain stable form and texture. It mainly includes gums, dextrins, sugar esters and other sugar derivatives. Different foods have different consistencies and textures. No two stabilizers are exactly alike, and one is usually more effective than the other in a given application. Mixtures of stabilizers are often more effective than either stabilizer alone, especially in ice cream manufacturing. Thickeners are used in food mainly to give the food the required rheological properties, to change the texture and appearance of the food, to form the liquid, pulpy food into a specific form and to make it stable and homogeneous, and to improve the quality of the food in order to give it a viscous and palatable feel.
