What is Gelatin?

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What is gelatin/gelatine?

http://www.ivu.org/faq/gelatine.html

 

Gelatin (US spelling) or gelatine (British spelling) (used to make

Jell-o and other desserts) is made from the boiled bones, skins and

tendons of animals. An alternative substance is called Agar-Agar,

which is derived from seaweed. Another is made from the root of the

Kuzu. Agar-Agar is sold in noodle-like strands, in powdered form, or

in long blocks, and is usually white-ish in color.

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What is gelatin?

http://www.ochef.com/909.htm

 

You might want to sit down for this. Gelatin is a tasteless,

odorless, almost colorless mixture of proteins that dissolves in hot

water, but becomes a jelly when cooled, holding the water in a rubbery

suspension. It is used in the preparation of many different foods —

the basis for Jell-o, for instance, but also to dress up aspics and

pâtés, and to give structure to creamy desserts, such as some mousses,

cheesecakes, and commercial ice cream. OK, perhaps you didn't need to

sit down for that. But where does gelatin come from?

 

It is derived from collagen found in the bones, cartilage, connective

tissue, and skin of animals, traditionally cows. Most commercially

produced gelatin nowadays is produced from pig skin. If you have ever

roasted a chicken or ham, you made your own gelatin. The juices in the

bottom of the pan contain gelatin rendered from the collagen, and if

you put the roasting pan in the refrigerator, you'll find some of the

juice setting into a gel.

 

Every grocery store sells animal-based gelatin (the leading brand in

this country is Knox, in orange and white boxes).

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Gelatin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Gelatin (also gelatine, from French gélatine) is a translucent,

colourless, brittle, nearly tasteless solid substance, extracted from

the collagen inside animals' connective tissue. It has been commonly

used as an emulsifier in food, pharmaceutical, photography, and

cosmetic manufacturing. Substances containing gelatin or functioning

in a similar way are called gelatinous. Gelatin is an irreversibly

hydrolyzed form of collagen. Gelatin is classified as a foodstuff and

has E number 441.

 

Gelatin is a protein produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen

extracted from the bones, connective tissues, organs, and some

intestines of animals such as the domesticated cattle, and horses. The

natural molecular bonds between individual collagen strands are broken

down into a form that rearranges more easily. Gelatin melts when

heated and solidifies when cooled again. Together with water, it forms

a semi-solid colloid gel. Gelatin forms a solution of high viscosity

in water, which sets to a gel on cooling, and its chemical composition

is, in many respects, closely similar to that of its parent collagen.

[1] Gelatin solutions show viscoelastic flow and streaming

birefringence. If gelatin is put into contact with cold water, some of

the material dissolves. The solubility of the gelatin is determined by

the method of manufacture. Typically, gelatin can be dispersed in a

relatively concentrated acid. Such dispersions are stable for 10-15

days with little or no chemical changes and are suitable for coating

purposes or for extrusion into a precipitating bath. Gelatin is also

soluble in most polar solvents. Gelatin gels exist over only a small

temperature range, the upper limit being the melting point of the gel,

which depends on gelatin grade and concentration and the lower limit,

the ice point at which ice crystallizes. The mechanical properties are

very sensitive to temperature variations, previous thermal history of

the gel, and time. The viscosity of the gelatin/water mixture

increases with concentration and when kept cool (≈40°F).