The invention relates to high performance gellan gum compositions having a 0.1% curdmeter gel strength of at least about 117 g/cm.sup.2, i.e. from about 117 g/cm.sup.2 to about 400 g/cm.sup.2. The high performance gellan gums have a low acyl content but an increased molecular weight. One embodiment of the invention also relates to processes for producing high performance gellan gums having high clarity. The invention further relates to food and non-food industrial products comprising high performance gellan gums.