I've gotten guar gum at markets that cater to vegan/vegetarian folks and
others on restricted diets. I never checked into it, but just assumed
that it's used as a thickener in vegetarian and/or non-gluten cooking,
possibly in place of gelatin or other animal-based products, or wheat
gluten. I haven't seen it in the average grocery store.

I'm sure it's available via the web in consumer quantities. Or if you'd
like to get your hands on some right away, it is (I believe) the sole
ingredient of a product called BeneFiber, which is marketed as a fiber
source for people who need to augment their intake to "improve
motility", as the saying goes.

Some ice cream and custard recipes specify the use of yolks only, but I
typically use the whole egg for ice cream, just for the sake of
simplicity. You may have to be a bit more attentive when cooking a
mixture with whole eggs, but I've not had any problems.

Most of my ice cream concoctions are pretty strongly-flavored, I guess,
with chocolate and/or vanilla plus dark rum or an appropriate liqueur,
and typically have various kinds of fruit and/or nuts added. I suppose
all these additives could disguise an overly "egg-y" flavor from the
whites that could come through with more delicate flavors and textures.
I haven't experimented with that, either using the whole egg or no egg
at all.

Bob
==============================
In article . com>,
says...
> Thanks Bob. The question is - where can I buy guar gum ? Is it
> available for retail customers ?
>
> As far as increasing egg yolk content, I am actually trying to keep it
> down, because I am trying to keep ice cream taste (and color, too)
> closer to sweetened diary cream. BTW, all ice cream custard recipes
> mention "eggs", but I always assumed it should be "egg yolks" - am I
> correct ?
>
> suggested to use unflavored gelatin. I am actually
> using a bit of it (though less than 1.5 bags / gallon), but I think it
> has a different effect - it slows down ice cream melting, and makes it
> keep the original scoop shape longer , but it does not add any
> "body", or density.
>
> M. Ptich
>
> yetanotherBob wrote:
> > It's not a dairy powder, but guar gum is used by many commercial ice
> > cream manufacturers as a thickener. It also adds fiber, thus making
> > your ice cream "healthy"! :-)
> >
> > You said that this is a "basic custard" ice cream recipe, suggesting
> > that it contains egg and is cooked. Have you tried adding a bit more
> > egg and/or cooking it a bit longer to thicken it up?
> >
> > Bob
> > ====================
> > In article . com>,
> > says...
> > > I added instant skim milk powder (30g / input cup of heavy cream) to a
> > > basic custard ice cream recipe, and it did make the ice cream to feel
> > > "heavier", a very desirable result IMHO. But it also added a bit of
> > > undesirable taste, kind of pseudo-salty. I am wondering, is there some
> > > other type of diary powder that can give the ice cream more body
> > > without adding much flavor ?
> > >
>
>