Let us start with, WHAT IS GELATIN?
It is melted animal bones and skin which is dried and packed in powder or sheet form. which is usually used as a thickening or setting agent with an aim to give a jelly like or a boingy texture to the finished product.
Next question.
What products usually contain Gelatin?
Well, anything that has that chewy jelly like texture might possibly but not necessarily contain Gelatin.Some examples would be jelly crystals or fruit jelly, Jello,Gummie bears,chewy fruit jellies,mouse,mousecake,marshmallows, anything that needs to be set.
Next step would be
I am a vegetarian and am looking to avoid gelatin while preparing recipes that call for setting.Please give me vegetarian replacements for Gelatin
Believe it or not , there are a lot of natural substances that work wonderfully as replacements.
If you are making jams or jellies and want things to set, you could use PECTIN crystals or fruits that contain pectin.Pectin helps achieve a far superior 'melt in the mouth' texture for the finished product.Just use the right amount.The more amount of pectin crytals you use for a given amount, the more set the finished product would be.
If you are making mousse , using agar agar crystals ,which is a great vegetarian alternative.It gives that exact texture of mousse ,had it been made from gelatin, if not better. Again, agar_agar is also called as china grass sometimes or seaweed powder ..It is a seaweed and absolutely works as a replacement.
If you are looking for a custardy texture , esp while making custard-You might as well use either whole wheat flour(trust me, whole wheat flour works as well as bleached refined flour as a thickening agent-Plus, it is healthy too ) or corn flour to thicken.First dissolve the dry flour in cold water or milk or soymilk and and then add to the whole lot of sauce or mixture that you plan to thicken while still on the stove.
If you have more questions, leave a comment for me and i shall get around to finding a replacement for ya.
It is melted animal bones and skin which is dried and packed in powder or sheet form. which is usually used as a thickening or setting agent with an aim to give a jelly like or a boingy texture to the finished product.
Next question.
What products usually contain Gelatin?
Well, anything that has that chewy jelly like texture might possibly but not necessarily contain Gelatin.Some examples would be jelly crystals or fruit jelly, Jello,Gummie bears,chewy fruit jellies,mouse,mousecake,marshmallows, anything that needs to be set.
Next step would be
I am a vegetarian and am looking to avoid gelatin while preparing recipes that call for setting.Please give me vegetarian replacements for Gelatin
Believe it or not , there are a lot of natural substances that work wonderfully as replacements.
If you are making jams or jellies and want things to set, you could use PECTIN crystals or fruits that contain pectin.Pectin helps achieve a far superior 'melt in the mouth' texture for the finished product.Just use the right amount.The more amount of pectin crytals you use for a given amount, the more set the finished product would be.
If you are making mousse , using agar agar crystals ,which is a great vegetarian alternative.It gives that exact texture of mousse ,had it been made from gelatin, if not better. Again, agar_agar is also called as china grass sometimes or seaweed powder ..It is a seaweed and absolutely works as a replacement.
If you are looking for a custardy texture , esp while making custard-You might as well use either whole wheat flour(trust me, whole wheat flour works as well as bleached refined flour as a thickening agent-Plus, it is healthy too ) or corn flour to thicken.First dissolve the dry flour in cold water or milk or soymilk and and then add to the whole lot of sauce or mixture that you plan to thicken while still on the stove.
If you have more questions, leave a comment for me and i shall get around to finding a replacement for ya.
