Gelatin Ingredients

Gelatin, also known as gelatine, is a colorless water-soluble protein. The jelly which is used in most of the desserts and sweets is made of gelatin. Jell-O is a popular brand in the US for making gelatin-based desserts. Gelatin, in its natural form is colorless, odorless and tasteless. There have been many conceptions, misconceptions and beliefs about ingredients in gelatin. So, what exactly is gelatin made of? Let us take a look at it in detail.

Gelatin Ingredients
Collagen is one of the chief ingredients of gelatin. Collagen is a scleroprotein found in the bone, cartilage and tendons of animals. When animal bones or tissues are boiled, the collagen in the bone yields gelatin. Hence, getting straight to the point, you should know that gelatin can be obtained only from animal tissues. There is a widespread misconception that gelatin is obtained from horse hooves, which is incorrect. Horse hooves or bones are never used in the production process of gelatin. Tissues of pigs, cattle and fish are prominently used in order to obtain gelatin.

Therefore, it is undoubtedly clear that as gelatin is gotten from animal sources, and hence, it cannot be considered as a vegetarian meal or product. Similarly, any product containing gelatin, like marshmallows, gummy bears, Peeps, Jell-O desserts, etc. can never be included in vegan food products. Many capsule covers are also made with gelatin and hence, vegetarians should specifically check the label of any medicine to make sure whether they are vegetarian or not. Gelatin is also one of the chief ingredients of toothpaste, certain cosmetics, soups and canned hams. Gelatin is commonly available in the form of granules, flakes as well as cubes. The answer to the query, 'is Kosher gelatin vegan or not' is very ambiguous. Therefore, it is always advisable to check the Kosher laws and gelatin ingredients thoroughly before consuming these products.

Vegan Gelatin
Vegans may be disappointed to find that gelatin used in their favorite desserts is obtained from an animal source and hence, cannot be consumed. One should also know that no such product as the vegan gelatin exists. However, there are various substances that have similar properties like that of gelatin and can be used as substitutes. Agar, also known as agar-agar, is a widely used vegan substitute for gelatin. Agar is obtained from seaweed or red algae and is used as an ingredient in many vegan desserts all over the world. Agar is obtained by boiling, purifying and drying red algae or red seaweed. The properties of agar are not exactly similar to that of gelatin, as it is more slimy and softer than gelatin. But, nonetheless, it makes an excellent gelling agent in vegan marshmallows and jellies. Some of the other vegan substitutes for gelatin include Xanthan, Biobin, Guar and Carob fruit.

Now that you know about the constituents or ingredients of gelatin, it is always advisable to check the label of every product, specially desserts or canned foodstuffs. Presence of gelatin in it means it has been prepared from an animal source which definitely is not a vegan option! Ciao!