ABOUT GELATIN AND PREPARATION

OF GELATIN MASS FROM IT

 CONTENTS

Definition...........................................................................................................................................................3

Types of gelatin.................................................................................................................................................3

The strength of gelatin...................................................................................................................................5

Gelatin mass....................................................................................................................................................6

Impact of other ingredients on gelatin functions.....................................................................................7

 DEFINITION

Gelatin is a product of animal origin. It is made from bones, cartilage, veins and skin - mostly
from the connective tissue

Gelatin has good gelling properties and is widely

used in the pastry world:
gelatin molecules attract water well, therefore,
when contacting with liquid, they swell strongly;
when heated, the swollen gelatin dissolves, and
when the mass is cooled, the gelatin protein
filaments keep the liquid in a stable form.

The word gelatin originates from Latin. It comes from the verb gelāre, which means ‘to freeze’.

It is believed that the oldest forms of gelatin were not used for cooking, but as a glue.

People began to use gelatin for food preparation in the early 19th century.

Most gel dishes up to that point had been cooked and gellied by boiling veal legs.

TYPES OF GELATIN

Currently, gelatin is manufactured in two forms - powder (or granules) and leaves, which
determines the way of working with it.

Powdered gelatin is always soaked in cold water

in a ratio of 1 part of gelatin : 6 parts of water

(sometimes the ratio is 1: 5).

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Gelatin leaves are soaked in a fairly large amount of very cold water (10-15°C / 50-59°F), so that
the gelatin does not begin to dissolve ahead of time, for 15 minutes.

Its main advantage is that it absorbs only the exact amount of water it needs, that is why the
amount of cold water is not specified.

At the beginning, the leaf is hard and thin. When swelling, it becomes thicker, bouncy and pliable,
it does not break. Before using it, you need to squeeze out any excess moisture.

There are several ways to squeeze out the excess moisture:

• transfer leaves to a sieve and let the water drain
• lift the gelatin leaves with a fork and let the excess water drain
• take gelatin leaves in hand and squeeze them

It is believed that working with gelatin leaves is easier, since each leaf has an exact mass
(usually 2.5 or 5 grams), however, it is more often more expensive than its powdered analogue.
For both powdered gelatin and gelatin leaves, it is important that the liquid component, to which
the gelatin is added, is warm (40°C / 104°F and above) so that the gelatin dissolves well in it, and
does not form a large lump.

Contrary to popular belief, the gelatin does not lose its properties when heated and re-stabilized.
gelatin can also be brought to boil, this will only make it stronger, since the excess liquid will
evaporate and the concentration of gelatin will increase. Thus, the gelatin mass can be
pre-melted before adding it to the liquid.

If in the recipe the amount of gelatin mass is indicated, and you want to use gelatin leaves, you
need to recalculate their amount. To do this, the amount of gelatin mass indicated in the recipe
should be divided by 7.

For example, you have 70 g of the gelatin mass in the recipe.

70 g : 7 = 10 g

This means that for the recipe you need to use 10 g of gelatin leaves.

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 THE STRENGTH OF GELATIN

The strength of gelatin is measured in Bloom. The higher the Bloom value, the higher the melting
and gelling points of a gel, and the shorter its gelling times, the color is lighter and the taste is
less pronounced, that means that the gelatin with low Bloom value has a dark color and a meaty
aftertaste.

The gelatin with strength of 200 Bloom is the one most widely distributed. In the table below you
will see the recalculation of gelatin by its strength.

Strength of the Strength of your gelatin

gelatin
in the recipe 160 180 200 220 240

160 1 0,88 0,8 0,72 0,66

180 1,12 1 0,9 0,81 0,75
200 1,25 1,1 1 0,9 0,83
220 1,37 1,22 1,1 1 0,91
240 1,5 1,33 1,2 1,09 1

In order to recalculate the gelatin in a recipe, the mass of gelatin in the recipe has to be
multiplied by the corresponding coefficient in the table.

For example, in the recipe 10 grams of gelatin with strength of 200 Bloom are used. There is also
gelatin with strength of 240 Bloom. And the coefficient you need is located in the cell of the
intersection of rows and columns: 0.83. So we multiply the mass of the gelatin in the recipe by
the coefficient: 10 X 0.83 = 8.3 grams of gelatin with strength of 240 Bloom are to be used in
order to obtain a texture just like the one in the recipe.

Apart from being measured in Blooms, gelatin leaves are also labeled as “Platinum”, “Gold”,
“Silver” and “Bronze”.

There is a correspondence of the gelatin label name to its strength.

Gelatin leaf name Strength of the gelatin leaf

Bronze 125-155
Silver 160
Gold 190-220
Platinum 235-260

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 GELATIN MASS

Gelatin mass is the mixture made by blooming powdered

gelatin in cold water.

Such gelatin mass can be stored in the fridge for up to

48-72 hours maximum.

In a professional kitchen, the set gelatin mass is cut into

cubes for ease of use in different recipes.

When you need to cook a large number of cakes, it is very

convenient to prepare the gelatin mass in advance.

Instead of soaking the gelatin for each component separately, soak the entire volume of gelatin
at once, prepare the gelatin mass and cut off the required amount. It helps to save time and
utensils.

To calculate how much powdered gelatin you need to use, if the recipe indicates the weight of
the gelatin mass, you need to use the proportion mentioned above: if the weight of the gelatin
mass is 14 g, then we take 2 g of gelatin: 2 g of powder + 12 g of water.

If you use gelatin leaves, you do not need to make the gelatin mass. They just need to be soaked,
squeezed and applied to the recipe.

It takes some time for the gelatin to start working at full strength - about 7 hours. Therefore, for
example, a mirror glaze, which contains gelatin, should preferably be kept for at least 7 hours
before using, so that it sets better on dessert.

When choosing between the powdered gelatin and the gelatin leaves, you should focus only on
convenience. Both of these forms are equivalent to each other, so they can be safely replaced.
The only thing to keep in mind is the strength of gelatin. It should be the same.

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 RECIPE OF PREPARATION OF GELATIN MASS

Ingredients 140 g 100%

Powdered gelatin 20 15%

Water 120 85%

Pour the gelatin into a bowl and add cold water.

Mix gently with a whisk.

Put the gelatin mass in the fridge for 30 minutes to set.

Then melt the gelatin mass and remove the foam, if any, with the help of a strainer.

After that, let the mass set again.

Cut the mass into cubes for ease of use.

IMPACT OF OTHER INGREDIENTS ON GELATIN FUNCTIONS

• Sugar - slightly reduces the thickness of the gel

• Salt - reduces the thickness of the gel at pH no lower than 4. Products with high acidity level
requiremore gelatin. Acidic ingredients reduce the transparency of the gel.
• Alcohol - reduces the thickness of the gel. At 30-50% of alcohol in the contents of the liquid the
gelatin precipitates
• Calcium - slightly increases the thickness of the gel
• Papaya, kiwi, pineapple and melon contain an enzyme that breaks down the amino acids of
gelatin

It is important to remember that all gelling agents differ in the texture they give as well as the
technique of use. Therefore, gelatin can never be replaced with agar-agar or pectin, for example.
You won't get the same texture, the same mass behavior, and the same result.