Gelatin is the cooked form of collagen, one of the components of animal bones and connective tissues like ligaments and tendons. Its high amino acid content contributes to its many medicinal uses, a topic for another post. You’ve probably extracted it at some point in your life when cooking down beef or poultry bones for broth, but most people find it more convenient to use the little packets of powder.
While gelatin powder can be added to most any recipe, it works particularly well in liquids like soups, stews, and smoothies. And indeed, that’s what a lot of people do with it to get an extra little bit of protein in their diets. But as preppers, we can use gelatin in a few more ways that may really make a difference when we’re in the midst of collapse.
Egg substitute
For one egg: Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of gelatin powder over ¼ cup of water. Let sit for 10 minutes to thicken before incorporating it in your recipe.
Yogurt
Homemade yogurt often runs a little on the thin side. Adding a packet of gelatin when mixing up the milk will make your yogurt firmer. Link below.
Marshmallows
Rice Krispies will store forever (or at least 10 years, in my experience) if vacuum-sealed in a canning jar, and Rice Krispy treats can be made with coconut oil instead of butter, but you’ve got to have fresh marshmallows. Dehydrated just don’t work, and vacuum-sealing them is a disaster. And you’ve got to have gelatin to make marshmallows. Link below.
Clean cooking oil
Mixing a little plain gelatin into used cooking oil will clean it up a bit and help it last longer. Link below.
Fruit Spread
Out of pectin? No canning supplies? Use plain gelatin to thicken fruit juice into jelly or fruit pulp into an unsweetened jam. The texture will be similar to Jell-O and they must be stored in the refrigerator and consumed within one month.
Fruit Spread
Yields 1 pint
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
3 cups crushed prepared fruit
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Sugar or honey, if desired, to taste
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine the fruit and sweeteners (if desired). Cook over high heat, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.
Remove from heat. Add softened gelatin. Return to heat and cook for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
Ladle into clean jars. Cool and store in the refrigerator. Use within 30 days.
In like manner, plain gelatin can also be used to thicken a runny batch of jam. Do not process it in a boiling water bath. Keep it refrigerated and use within one month.
Thickening sauces
Sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons of cool water and let sit 10 minutes. To thicken any sauce, slowly add the gelatin mixture until you achieve the desired consistency.
Stabilized whipped cream
Whipped cream can be used to decorate a cake or other pastries, but if it stands for more than an hour or so or the temperatures are high, it just kinda melts into a sorry sight. However, if the whipped cream is stabilized with gelatin, it will hold together well enough to frost and decorate a cake. And it will taste worlds better than store-bought canned frosting or frostings made with shortening.
Stabilized whipped cream
Yields 2 cups of whipped cream
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon cool water
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Chill the bowl and beaters in the refrigerator. Also be sure that the cream is cold.
Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let sit for 5 minutes. Then microwave it for 5 seconds at a time or warm it over a double boiler to dissolve the gelatin completely.
Remove the bowl and beaters from the refrigerator and immediately pour in the cream. Beat on high until it begins to thicken. Gradually add in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Stop beating when just shy of the soft peak stage.
On low speed, start beating again and add the gelatin in a thin stream. (If it has gelled, return to the microwave or double boiler to liquefy.) Beat until you achieve desired consistency, whether it is soft or stiff peaks.
Do not overbeat. If this happens and the whipped cream is only grainy, it may be salvaged by stirring in—by hand!—a few spoonfuls of fresh cream. If it has separated, there is no repair. Continue beating to make sweet butter.
Keep in mind the following
- What’s the shelf life? Kept cool and dry in an airtight container, gelatin lasts indefinitely. Even if it clumps up, just mix it with a little cold water for 5 minutes to moisten before adding the hot water.
- If you are adding sugar, mix the sugar and gelatin first before dissolving in water.
- Gelatin needs more time to dissolve in cream or milk, up to twice as long.
- Bringing gelatin mixtures to a full boil risks losing gelatin’s thickening ability.
- Gelatin may be melted (in a double boiler) and re-chilled several times before losing its gelling ability.
- A packet of Knox Unflavored Gelatine gels 2 cups of clear liquid in 2 hours. Gelatin with additions like fruit, cream, nuts, etc., may take up to 4 hours.
- Each packet of Knox Unflavored Gelatine contains 2 ½ teaspoons of gelatin. However, if a recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of gelatin, you’re usually good to go just using a single packet.
Links to related posts:
How to Clean Dirty Cooking Oil
References:
https://www.knoxgelatine.com/basics.htm
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/food/preservation/low-sugar-jams-jellies/fruit-spreads-sp-50-765
https://cakedecorist.com/amazing-whipped-cream-with-gelatin-recipe/
https://popularask.net/how-do-i-use-knox-gelatin/ 5 march 2022
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