Carrageenan

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌkɛɹəˈɡinən/

Definitions

1. A natural extract from specific red algae that serves as a thickener and stabilizer in culinary and industrial applications
2. A polysaccharide derived from seaweed widely employed for its ability to enhance texture and stability in food and cosmetics
3. A substance extracted from certain red seaweeds used to thicken, gel, and stabilize various food products

Etymology: Carrageenan takes its name from Carrageen, the Irish name for Irish moss, a red seaweed that grows along the rocky Atlantic coasts of Ireland and northern France. The village of Carrigeen, on the southeast coast of Ireland, gave the seaweed its local name, and the word has long been used there for both the plant and the jelly made by boiling it. Folk cooks in Ireland and Brittany had used the seaweed for centuries as a remedy and a setting agent for puddings and jellies. The scientific term came in the mid-nineteenth century, when chemists began isolating the gel-forming substances in the seaweed. The suffix "-an" is an alternative form of "-in", the ending used for many chemical substances, so the word reads as a name for a seaweed extract. Its present-day meaning, a thickener and stabilizer added to foods and other products, grew out of that laboratory work.