What is Gelatin?

Gelatin is a hydrolyzed product of collagen, a high-fat high protein and cholesterol free substance, and a natural nutritional food thickener. Eating it will neither cause weight gain nor decrease physical strength. Gelatin is also a powerful protective colloid with strong emulsifying power. After entering the stomach, it can inhibit the coagulation of milk, soybean milk and other proteins caused by gastric acid, thus facilitating food digestion.

In the current food industry, almost all are using food additives, especially in countries with developed food industries. Edible gelatin has been widely used as an additive to make candy additives, frozen foods, etc. In addition, gelatin is widely used in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. According to reports, over 60% of the world’s gelatin is used in the food and candy industry. In candy production, gelatin is used to produce gummy candies.

Gelatin, as a food additive, has the following main functions in food:

1. Frozen food improver

In frozen foods, gelatin can be used as a gelling agent. Gelatin jelly has a low melting point and is easily soluble in hot water.

2. Meat product improver

The application of gelatin as an additive in meat products, such as meat jelly and canned ham, can improve the yield and quality of products. In addition, gelatin also serves as an emulsifier in some meat products, such as meat sauce and broth, and maintains the original taste of the product.

3. Thickener

Adding gelatin powder to canned food can avoid sticking the lid. During the production process of canned meat, a certain proportion of gelatin solution can be added, which not only enhances the meat flavor but also thickens the soup; It can also form a smooth surface with good transparency, making canned meat look more tempting.

4. Beverage clarifying agent

Gelatin can be used as a clarifying agent in the production of products such as beer and juice. Its mechanism of action is that gelatin can form a flocculent precipitate with tannins. After standing, the flocculent colloidal particles can adsorb, agglomerate, and co precipitate with turbid substances, and then be removed by filtration.

5. Dairy product additives

Gelatin is widely used in various dairy products such as yogurt, cheese, etc. Gelatin has three main functions when used in dairy products:

The first is anti whey precipitation, the second is emulsification stability, and the third is the stabilizer of milk foam.

6. Food coating materials

In recent years, gelatin has been widely used as a food coating in various countries. Coating gelatin on food surfaces has the following advantages: (1) when two different foods are combined together, coating gelatin can inhibit browning reactions; (2) Prevent food from absorbing moisture and becoming stiff; (3) Can make the surface of food shiny and improve food quality; (4) Can prevent food from spoiling and oxidizing; (5) Gelatin acts as a stabilizer to prevent product shrinkage and deformation; (6) Preservation function.