Gelatine

About This Product

Gelatine is produced by partially hydrolysing collagen extracted from the skin, hide and bone of cattle, pigs or fish. It carries CAS number 9000-70-8 and the European additive number E441, and is supplied as a pale granule, powder or sheet. Type A comes from acid pretreatment, usually of pigskin, and Type B from alkaline pretreatment of bovine hide and bone; they differ in isoelectric point and are not always interchangeable.

It is graded by Bloom value, the force needed to depress the surface of a standard gel, with commercial grades running from about 80 to 300 Bloom. Higher Bloom means a firmer gel at the same dose. Gelation works by the protein chains re-forming triple helices as the solution cools, building a network that traps water. Two consequences follow. First, the process is thermoreversible: the gel melts on warming and sets again on cooling, unlike pectin or starch gels. Second, and commercially decisive, it melts at around 35 degrees Celsius, just below body temperature, so it dissolves in the mouth and releases flavour in a way no other hydrocolloid matches. Fresh pineapple, papaya and kiwi contain proteases that prevent setting.

It is used in confectionery and gummies, desserts and mousses, dairy, meat products, capsules and tablet binding, and as a fining agent.

Bio Green Foods supplies gelatine to specification on Bloom strength, viscosity, moisture, ash, pH, microbiology and species origin, with halal and kosher certification available.