Flavorless gum For increasing viscosity and as a emulsifier Used to make gel-like foods (i.e. Bakers "chellies") Molecular gastronomy Powder form From wikipedia: as a flavorless gum, it is used by the foods industry to increase viscosity and as an emulsifier. As a food additive, sodium alginate is used especially in the production of gel-like foods. For example, bakers' "chellies" are often gelled alginate "jam." also, the pimento stuffing in prepared cocktail olives is usually injected as a slurry at the same time that the stone is ejected; the slurry is subsequently set by immersing the olive in a solution of a calcium salt, which causes rapid gelation by electrostatic cross-linking in recent years, sodium alginate has been used in molecular gastronomy. Ferran adriˆ pioneered the technique, and it has since been used by chefs such as grant achatz and heston blumenthal. Sodium alginate is combined with calcium lactate or similar compounds to create spheres of liquid surrounded by a thin jelly membrane.