Making gelatin from scratch
I found on Wikipedia that it is made from animals' skin and bones. The article describes the steps of gelatin production from a technical perspective:
The manufacturing processes of gelatin consists of three main stages:
- Pretreatments to make the raw materials ready for the main extraction step and to remove impurities which may have negative effects on physiochemical properties of the final gelatin product,
- The main extraction step, which is usually done with hot water or dilute acid solutions as a multi-stage extraction to hydrolyze collagen into gelatin, and finally,
- The refining and recovering treatments including filtration, clarification, evaporation, sterilization, drying, rutting, grinding, and sifting to remove the water from the gelatin solution, to blend the gelatin extracted, and to obtain dried, blended and ground final product.
How can you make gelatin from scratch in your own kitchen?
Best Answer
It's the refinement that's the real issue: anyone who's braised a big joint of meat knows that a couple of hours of low-temperature stewing will net you large amounts of gelatin. Hooves and antlers were the preferred media, but anything that's got a bunch of collagen will work. Talk to your butchers shop, and see if you can buy some bones.
Refinement was done the old fashioned way: by hand. You skim the top to remove the scum, you add egg whites to degrease and to clarify the "broth", and then you strain and strain and strain and strain.
And strain. And strain. And strain. The skimming/straining process is similar to rendering sugar from sugar cane, if you've ever done it (slightly less esoteric, because people still like molasses). They obviously don't use egg whites in rendering sugar.
It's a huge amount of work (and OMG it stinks...do it outdoors if possible), and the end result is probably not going to be on par with the stuff you buy from the store. Unless you're hankering to re-invent an ancient technology just for the fun of it, I'd just buy it.
Edit: I dug around, and there are a number of products for straining jelly that might make it easier, and they should be able to deal with the viscosity of the gelatin soup. Unfortunately they seem to be made for smaller batches, and that may not be helpful if you're doing a huge kettle.
Pictures about "Making gelatin from scratch"
How do you make gelatin at home?
To make gelatin, start by adding 1/2 cup (120ml) of cold water to a large bowl. Then, empty a packet of gelatin into the cold water, and wait 5-10 minutes for the gelatin to expand. Next, bring 1 1/2 cups (360ml) of water to a simmer, and pour it into the gelatin mixture.Can I make my own gelatin?
To make the gelatin. Mix thoroughly and allow to sit until the gelatin swells in the liquid. Place the remaining 3/4 cup fruit juice, plus any fruit puree (or more juice) to make 2 full cups in a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.What are the ingredients to gelatin?
Gelatin is made from animal collagen \u2014 a protein that makes up connective tissues, such as skin, tendons, ligaments, and bones. The hides and bones of certain animals \u2014 often cows and pigs \u2014 are boiled, dried, treated with a strong acid or base, and finally filtered until the collagen is extracted.How do you make gelatin powder step by step?
For powdered gelatin, measure out 1/4 cup of cold water per envelope. Sprinkle the powder over the top, then stir to combine. Let the mixture sit 5 to 10 minutes, until the gelatin absorbs all the water and becomes all wiggly and jiggly.GELITA - How is Gelatine made?
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Dmitry Demidov, Monstera, Maria Orlova, Karolina Grabowska