Gelatin is the product of partially hydrolyzed collagen. Collagen molecule is a helicoid formed by three intertwined polypeptide chains. Through this process, the helix of collagen molecule is denatured and decomposed into a single polypeptide chain（ α Chain) α Components and two chains β Will be composed of three groups α Chain γ Components are separated in α- Between components and less than α- Component or greater than γ- The molecular chain segment of the component. The application of gelatin in food is mainly in the following aspects:

Candy additive

It is reported that more than 60% of the world's gelatin is used in the food and candy industry. In candy production, gelatin is used to produce toffee, protein, cotton candy, cotton candy, crystal flower, soft candy and other soft candy. Gelatin can absorb water and support bones. After being dissolved in water, gelatin particles can attract and interweave with each other, forming a network structure of stacked layers, and coagulate with the temperature drop, so that sugar and water can be completely filled in the gaps of gel, so that soft candy can maintain stable shape, and will not deform even under large loads. The general dosage of gelatin in candy is 5% - 10%.

When the amount of gelatin in crystal gelatin is 6%, the effect is good.

The amount of gelatin added in gum is 6.7%.

The content of nougat is 0.6% to 3% or higher.

1.5% to 9% of the concentrated syrup added with syrup, and the composition of sugar ingot or jujube sugar must contain 2% to 7% gelatin.

In candy production, gelatin has more elasticity, toughness and transparency than starch and agar. In particular, high-quality gelatin with high gel strength is required for the production of fudge and toffee with sufficient elasticity and complete shape.

Frozen food improver

In frozen foods, gelatin can be used as jelly. Gelatin jelly has a low melting point, is easy to dissolve in hot water, and has the characteristics of instant food. It is usually used to make jelly and edible jelly. Gelatin can also be used to make jelly. Gelatin jelly will not crystallize in the warm syrup that has not yet melted. After the clot is crushed, it can form a mild jelly again.

As a stabilizer, gelatin can be used in the production of ice cream, ice cream, etc. The function of gelatin in ice cream is to prevent the formation of coarse ice crystals, keep the tissue delicate and reduce the melting speed. In order to obtain excellent ice cream, the content of gelatin must be appropriate. The general dosage of gelatin in ice cream is 0.25%~0.6%.

Meat improver

Gelatin is added to meat products as jelly to produce essence of pork, jelly, canned ham, pasta, veal, ham pie, canned meat and Zhenjiang dishes.

Gelatin can also be used as an emulsifier for certain meat products, such as emulsifying the fat of meat paste and cream soup, and protecting the original characteristics of the products. In canned foods, gelatin can also be used as a thickener, usually adding powdered gelatin or thick jelly composed of one part of gelatin and two parts of water.

Beverage clarifier

Gelatin can be used as a clarifying agent for beer, fruit wine, liqueur, fruit juice, rice wine, almond milk drinks and other products. Its action mechanism is that gelatin can form flocculation precipitation with tannin. After standing, flocculent colloidal particles can be adsorbed, condensed, agglomerated and turbid, and then precipitated by filtration, and then removed by filtration.

For different drinks, gelatin can be used with different substances as needed to achieve different effects.

In the production of orange juice, gelatin needs to be used as clarifying agent together with tannin and silica gel.

For almond milk drinks, gelatin can be used together with sodium alginate as a composite thickener to make milk drinks with unique flavor and good taste. For different drinks, the amount of gelatin added is also different.

In juice drinks, the amount of gelatin added is 2% to 3%. When clarifying waxberry juice, water solution containing 1% gelatin should be used.

The water solution containing 0.5% gelatin is used in beer clarification. The amount of gelatin used in clarified wine is 0.1~0.3 g/L.

In the process of preparing black tea, the joint action of gelatin and silica gel can prevent the black tea beverage from becoming turbid due to long-term storage.

During the preparation of green tea, after the mixture of gelatin and vinyl pyrrolidone is used, the green tea cold drink can obtain good palatability.

Food coating

In recent years, Japan and other countries have used gelatin in food coatings. Applying gelatin on the surface of food has the following advantages:

(1) When two different foods are mixed together, gelatine can inhibit browning reaction.

(2) To prevent moisture absorption and rigidity of food, coating edible gelatin on the surface of sugar powder and granulated sugar can prevent moisture absorption of sugar and prevent caking

(3) It can brighten the surface of food and improve the quality of food.

(4) It can prevent food deterioration and oxidation. The coating made of gelatin has a concentration of 10% to 15%, and is suitable for ham, cured meat, sausage and cheese. It can prevent food from spoiling and prolong food storage time.

(5) Gelatin is used as a stabilizer to prevent product shrinkage and deformation.

(6) Fresh-keeping effect: add gelatin solution to the soaked fruit and vegetable sugar solution to form a film on the surface of the fruit and vegetable, which can ensure the freshness and natural flavor of the food.

In food production, gelatin can also be used to make cakes and various icing. Because of the stability of gelatin, even when the liquid phase increases in hot weather, this icing will not penetrate into the cake, and it can also control the size of sugar crystals. Gelatin can also be used to make colored beads, such as colored beads ice cream, sugar cans, etc.

In food packaging, gelatin can be synthesized into gelatin film. Gelatin film is also known as edible packaging film and biodegradable film. It has been proved that the gelatin film has good tensile strength, heat sealing, high gas resistance, oil resistance and moisture resistance.