From Sciencemadness Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search

Gelatin or gelatine (in UK), is a translucent, colorless, brittle (when dry), flavorless food product derived from collagen obtained from various animal body parts.


Gelatin is a mixture of peptides and proteins produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen extracted from the skin, bones, and connective tissues of animals. The main components identified in most types of gelatin are: glycine (21%), proline (12%), hydroxyproline (12%), glutamic acid (10%), alanine (9%), arginine (8%), aspartic acid (6%), other (22%).


Gelatin is a colorless or pale yellow solid, odorless and almost tasteless, which readily dissolves in hot water and sets to a gel on cooling. However, when added directly to cold water, it does not dissolve well. Gelatin also is soluble in some polar solvents, like acetic acid, formamide, glycerol, propylene glycol, but it's poorly soluble in other solvents like acetone, benzene, dimethylformamide, primary alcohols, hydrocarbons. Gelatine has a density between 1.3-1.4 g/cm3.[1]


Gelatin can be bought from food stores.


Boiling cartilaginous pieces of meat or bones results in gelatin being dissolved into the water.




Gelatine is non-toxic and is used as food. You should not, however, consume lab-grade gelatin, though.

Avoid making gelatin from bovine parts, as in some parts of the world there is a risk or being contaminated with prions that cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as "mad cow disease".


Gelatin should be kept in dry places, to avoid rotting.


No special disposal is required. Discard it as you wish.

See also



Relevant Sciencemadness threads