How To Use Gelatin In Cooking, Baking And Dessert

1. WHAT IS GELATIN  

Gelatin is defined as a flavorless, colorless and transcalent food ingredients which are made from the collagen taken from the bones, cartilage and skin of the animas bodies such as cow, fish, beef, pig and chicken. The process extract the collagen and a fibrous protein that connects | join bone, muscles and skill and tun into gelatin or gelatin.

2. DIFFERENT TYPES OF GELATIN

Gelatin is comes in powder. granules and sheet forms. Gelatin sheet is available in fours different types which are categorized their blooming strength. They are Titanium, Bronze, Silvers, Gold and Platinum. The each gelatin sheet has their different blooming strength. A gelatin blooming strength is determined the quality of the firmness or strength of the set gel. The more 'Bloom' value | the more blooming number, the more stiffer the gelatin sheet. The another benefit of high bloom value gelatin is that the higher the bloom value, the higher the melting point and gelling point and shorter the its gelling time. The higher bloom number of gelatin, the more firm gelatin set into gel. However, you can get same consistency with low bloom number gelatin, but need to e increased the amount of gelatin. The higher blooming value of gelatin is expensive because of being a properties of more firm gelatin set into gel, high gelling point and low melting point.

3. GELATIN BLOOMING STRENGTH AND RATIO OF LIQUID

Gelatin Blooming Strength is also called Gel strength. Generally the blooming strength of gelatin Sheet or the blooming value or number of gelatin sheet is between 30 to 300. Low and softest Gel set has less than 150, Medium Gel set has range 150 - 220 and High | Stiffness Gel set has range 220 - 300. Gelatin sheet has different blooming number and weight such as titanium has 100 blooming value and weight of per sheet is 5 gm. Similarly, Bronze, silver, gold, and platinum has blooming value of 125 – 155, 160, 190 – 220 and 235 – 265 and weight of each sheet are 3.3 gm, 2.6 gm, 2 gm and 1.7 gm respectively.

The ratio of gelatin sheet and liquid is that one gelatin sheet use for 100 ml liquid. The powder foam of gelatin has different way to ratio with liquid. Use the 0.6% to 1.7% gelatin powder of the weight of the total weight of the liquid in grams. The better and simple is to use 1%, It is easy to keep it in mind, The more percent of gelatin use, the more liquid get gel forms and strength. In short, the ratio of gelatin powder is lower 0.6% and higher 1.7% of total weight of the liquid in grams.

4. TEMPERATURE AND TIME APPLIED IN GELATIN FOR FOOD

Gelatin can be heated up to 60℃. Make sure that gelatin is completely dissolved into the milk or liquids before adding into the foods. Gelatin is insoluble in cold liquids, It is only dissolve completely in warm liquid, at the temperature between 35-40℃. At this temperature gelatin dissolve and allowing to absorb liquid quickly and also avoid the risk of occurring lumps. Don't go over 60℃ because gelatin may lose its thickening prosperities, when you bring it to boil. As result the food | desserts never set even after refrigerating many hours.

Gelatin start melts at the temperature between 25 - 40℃. Gelatin can be reset 2 | 3 times after melting, but it is not over heated because over heated the gelatin can reduce the gelling strength properties of the gelatin.

Gelatin set at 15℃ | 59 . Gelatin based food set in the fridge for at least 8 hours , but it prefer to keep for 24 hours to set perfectly. Gelatin can't set any further after 24 hours, but if you want to speed up the gelling process of gelatin and set fast, put it into the freezer for 2 to 4 hours to set the gelatin into gelly form and then in a cold room. However, don't keep for more hours in a freezer because gelatin contain jello - o which stop the gelatin from hardening like a ice. According to the southernliving.com, When put in the freezer, the gelatin content in Jell-O prevents it from hardening like ice. Freezing damage the polymers and colloids that bind gelatin together, which in turn ruins the texture of jello-0.

5. GELATIN HYDRATION AND INCORPORATING

Gelatin hydration means combine the gelatin with water. Gelatin incorporating means add | mix gelatin into the body (main ingredients of the dish | food). Adding too little gelatin into dessert, it will be liquid messy because of not not holding its shape. Adding too much gelatin make it stiff and rubbery texture. The ratio of gelatin sheet and liquid is one gelatin sheet use for 100 ml liquid. The powder foam of gelatin has different way to ratio with liquid. Use the 0.6% to 1.7% gelatin powder of the weight of the total weight of the liquid in grams. It is prefer to use 1% gelatin powder of the wight of the liquid to make creamy texture of your dessert. The proper hydration and Incorporating of the gelatin sheet and the powder are.

Gelatin sheet

Gelatin sheet hydrate and soft in a cold water | soak in a cold water until soft and take out from water and dissolve in a liquid that are going to use to set gel. Gelatin is insoluble in cold water, so it doesn't dissolve its gelling properties in a cold water, It needs temperature between 35 to 40 to dissolve the gelatin completely in the liquid. Gelatin sheet is stiff | hard, so it is good to soak in cold water first to make it soft and then add into the liquid use for set. it is easy to dissolve.

Gelatin Powder

Gelatin powder can normally hydrate in a liquid that are used to set | dissolve direct into liquid use for set, but liquid should be cold and then slowly heat it or first dissolve in a liquid for 8-10 minutes and then keep it for heating. If you add the granulate gelatin into the hot water, granulate of gelatin will swell on the outside too quickly and preventing the water from getting into the center.

The important note is that gelatin is insoluble in cold water, it means gelatin will not dissolve its gelling properties into the cold water, it need warm or hot liquid between 35 - 40 to dissolve the gelatin completely. Soaking gelatin sheet or granulate of gelatin into cold water, it makes the sheet soft and helps to dissolve fast into the liquid use to set into gel. Similarly, granulate gelatin hydrate and swell into cold liquid, which make it soft and helps to dissolve into the warm liquid without creating any lumps.

6. GELATIN INHIBITORS

Gelatin inhibitors is defined as those substance, agent or an ingredients that reduce, slow down or interferes the activity of an another substance such as enzymes. The inhibitors of the gelatin are in the following.

1. Prolong Heat 

Gelatin should not be cook over 60℃. Gelatin dissolve properly into the warm liquid between 35 - 40℃. Heating the gelatin on over high heat, lose its thickening and gelling prosperities, As a result the food | desserts never set even after refrigerating many hours.

2. Fruits

The combination of dessert like panna cotta and fruits is amazing. It is perfectly paired with fruits. However, there are some fresh fruits which are rich in bromelain ( which is called fruits enzymes) such as fresh papaya, kiwi, mango, guava, peach, fig and pineapple are not good with the gelatin based desserts. The reason is that gelatins is a protein made from collagen, when bromelain and gelatin meet, the enzymes breaking down the protein into basic amnio acid, which is basically, good for tendering meat, but not ideal for gelatin because it slow down the processing of setting gelatin into a smooth, solid panna cotta. As a result the final desserts will not smooth, creamy and jiggly texture. However, thee is some culinarian tips to avoid this problem is that always heat the bromelain rich fruits before using with gelatin base desserts, heating process inactive the enzymes or use canned fruits which are already heated during the canning process.

3. Salt

4. Acid

Any things contain acid can be the cause of not setting gelatin properly. The acid things can be lemon, vinegar, tomato, pineapple and so on.

5. Alcohol

Gelatin is also the inhibitor for gelatin. 

6. GELATIN USE IN FOOD AND DESSERT

It is easy to understand the usage of gelatin in food and dessert after knowing all about gelatin such as the cooking temperature, setting temperature, destroying temperature and melting temperature of gelatin, blooming value of gelatin, ratio of gelatin and liquids. There are some uses of gelatin in food which are explain in the below.

1. Thickening Agent

Gelatin is also used as a thickening agent for sauce like demi - glace, fruits and berries sweet sauce, mouse, custard sauce and sauce. Gelatin thicken when it cools, but corn flour, arrowroot and flour thicken when it is heated. Don't use more amount of gelatin into the sauce because the purpose of using gelatin into the sauce is to thicken it not to set into jelly. As you learnt in the above about the ratio of gelatin and liquid, the lower ratio of gelatin is 0.6% to the higher is 1.7%. It is suitable to use 0.6% gelatin of total weight of liquid in grams.

2. Set and firm liquid

Gelatin is often used to set and firm the liquid into jelly and to hold the shape of the dessert and sweet food. Fruits jelly, panna cotta and non-bake cheese are the example of dessert and sweet in which gelatin is used to give a jelly set and hold he shape of the liquid. It is good to use a 1% of gelatin of total weight of the liquid.

8. What happed if less or more gelatin use | Why is it important to use accurate gelatin.

Adding tool little gelatin in your dessert, it will be liquid messy and not hold the shape of the dessert. Adding too much gelatin makes your dessert stiff and rubbery. The simple guide helps you to decide the ratio of the gelatin and liquid are given below.

• Thickening the savory sauce | Mouse and custard | 0.6% of the total weight of the liquid.
• Set the liquid into creamy texture | 1% of the total weight of the liquid.
• Set the liquid into stiff | firm texture | between more than 1.4 % to 1.7%.

CULINARIAN NOTES

if you are using any ingredients which are inhibitors for gelatin such as some fruits like papaya, mangoes, pineapple, kiwi, salt, acidic, and alcohol, at this condition increase the some amount of gelatin because it slow down the processing of setting gelatin into a smooth, solid panna cotta. As a result the final desserts will not smooth, creamy and jiggly texture. The reason is that these inhibitors foods interfere in the chemical reaction of the gelatin and liquid and slow down the activity of gelatin by preventing the process of setting the gelatin into gel form.