ABSTRACTThe mechanical properties of hydrocolloid gels with high gum concentrations (agar 1–5%, gellan 1–3% and K‐carrageenan 0.5–3.0%), were measured under uniaxial tension. A simple power law model was used to describe the stress‐strain curves which tended to be concave upward. The overall stiffness and the extent to which the stress‐strain curve deviated from a straight line were estimated by the calculated constants of this model, using linear regression of the model's logarithmi