I started mixing my own gels recently using maltodextrin, fructose and water. The resulting product is not really a gel but - as to be expected - a thick-ish sugar water. This in itself is fine, but it takes a bit of care to not spill it out of the maurten gelflasks I use while riding. I then came across a recipe that should (according to chatgpt) emulate maurtens gels. It uses sodium alginate and calcium lactate to make it a gel. I tried this once and it was simply awful. Pieces of disgusting glibbery blobs. Any advice on how to do this? How to mix, cook, stir, sieve?
Just use the sodium alginate alone. It is a thickener. I would add it first to the water to get it dispersed before adding the other ingredients. I’m not really sure the purpose of the calcium lactate.
Haven’t tried making gels, but from other cooking experience I’d try some of the other common thickening agents – guar or xanthan gum, agar agar, rice or tapioca flour, etc.
For a really interesting mouthfeel you could try chia seeds.
I’ve had great luck just using real maple syrup. Obviously the taste may not be for everyone and the glucose:fructose ratio isn’t perfect, but it’s a simple, easy, whole food way to get in lots of carbs on the bike.
Easy maple syrup variations include instant coffee powder or cocoa powder. The flavors from UnTapped include mint, cinnamon spice, and citrus, all of which would be easy to do at home.
Maple syrup shots(with a dill pickle chaser) are a common offering at the food stops at gravel events in VT. A good dark syrup has a complex smokey flavor – it’s not just sweet.
I started out thickening but decided that thinner was easier to consume. But I used fruit pectin to thicken and it just made it less runny without getting thick and gloopy
Thanks to you all. My initial recipe seemed to come from the area of molecular cooking and was not suited for sports nutrition. Now tried the same Malto/Fructose/Salt mix with Xanthan. Immediately looks way better, will try on my next ride later today and let you know.
When making your own gels, how do you prevent the maltodextrine to go lumpy?
When I add the fructose to the water, it mixes nicely even in cold water. The maltodextrine however is such a fine powder (it’s like icing powder and I tried various brands), it turns into lumps which never completely dissolve.
I tried adding it to cold water, to warm water and to boiling water, all with the same result.
This website here: Energy-Gel Rezepte - RACEFUEL | Custom Energy Gel & Hydration Solutions (german) has some nice diy gel recipes. they are all quite liquidy (but actually the honey or agave syrup makle them less so) but filling them into one of those soft-flasks with a leakproof valve (i guess usually used by runners) has proven a good combination for me. i have never had any problems with leaking gel into my back pockets. there are some good flasks available at decathlon at the devil’s online shop (amazon). or directly on the racefuel website. highly recommended!
Tried the Malto/Fructose/Salt Gel with Xanthan today. Mouth feel and “gel-ness” was good, taste ok, but not great. Tried a dash of lemon juice for one flask which made it worse for me. Will try the grape-juice recipes that Paulek posted.
I’ve been making my own gels and found that just using the flasks lets me get more calories in vs individual packets.
I use 50/50 maltodextrin and table sugar. The trick to avoid clumping is to thoroughly mix the sugars dry. Before adding liquid I also add salt and guarana powder for electrolytes and caffeine.
I then add a syrup that I make from cooking down frozen berries. I’ll add water to get close to the consistency I want then finish with bottled lime juice until I get the right balance of sweet to tart to salty.
I make large batches and freeze it until needed. I load it into 5 oz flasks and away I go. Maybe some day I’ll branch out to other flavors but I really don’t find myself getting too tired of this recipe. For reference, my rides are 3-4 hrs. If I was going ultra I’d probably mix it up flavor-wise, maybe a nice pesto.
btw, they taste great (if you like grape juice and honey if you chose this instead of agave syrup)! and cost near to nothing. and you can go bonkers with organic ingredients! and no heaps of trash after a ride!
A tidbit of somewhat related info. I have some commercially available gels that are way past their use by date. I find some have developed small chunky bits, but it does not affect the taste, & does not adversely affect my stomach. (My mates reckon I am a garbage guts anyway.)
I started with just maple syrup in the maurten flask but it’s too runny and sticky, so I started mixing it with oatmeal to thicken. 120g of maple syrup mixed with 120g of quick steel cut oats (cooked obviously) and blend for a minute or so to smooth it out and that combination fits perfectly in the flask. Doesn’t leak from the flask, still really easy to “drink”.
Adding in my experience with maple syrup….it is, IME, the best low-cost solution to gels available. I buy the Costco organic maple syrup and it ends up costing less than $.50 / oz. I then add a healthy pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt to cut down on the sweetness and add electrolytes. Occasionally I will add a splash of liquid coffee concentrate for additional flavor options.
No need to mess around with cooking or mixing anything.
The Maurten gel flask doesn’t have a silicone valve. You want the “Hydrapak Flip Cap” with silicone nozzle. As a replacement part it seems to be permanently out of stock, but it comes with some of their 250ml flasks. I don’t know if it fits the Maurten version of the flask though. I have a few Salomon flasks (also made by Hydrapak) and they have a different thread to make them incompatible with standard Hydrapaks…
On the gel side, you can make it quite thick just by increasing the sugar-to-water concentration. 2 parts sugar to 1 part water is possible (150g sugar and 75g water for the 150ml flask) and with malto it will be rather viscous. It needs heat to dissolve though, 5-10 minutes at 60-70°C.
