Plain Gelatin Uses and Applications

Gelatin uses in food include a wide range of bakery products. When heated up and liquified, bakery gelatin is used as a thickening or gelling agent to stabilize cheesecakes, icings, sweeteners, whipped cream, glazes and fillings. It also helps pastries set properly and keeps them from falling apart.

Gelatin is used for clarifying wine, beer and fruit juices. It precipitates the materials that cause haziness or cloudiness so beverages are crystal clear without adding any noticeable taste.

Highly versatile food-grade gelatin is commonly used to produce gummy bears, marshmallows, circus peanuts, lozenges, wafers and more. Gelatin is particularly popular in confectionery applications because it dissolves slowly in the mouth. This means that it will subtly release flavors while delivering a smooth taste sensation.

Food manufacturers use gelatin in dairy products to produce the right taste and texture, especially for cultured items like sour cream, yogurt and low-fat dairy products. Gelatin in frozen dairy products, like ice cream, can slow the rate of melting and prevent ice crystals from forming in the freezer. Uses for gelatin include its application as a stabilizer for certain kinds of cheese, creating the right body and firmness.

Jams, jellies and other gelatin desserts are classic culinary confections that all depend on gelatin powder. While premade products are popular, custom gelatin desserts can be made on a small or large scale. 

Edible gelatin is used in jellied meat production to gel the fluid and form the pieces of meat into a mold. Canned meat production also relies on gelatin to retain the shape of the products for easy packing. Gelatin uses include the manufacturing of sausage casings.

If you specialize in nutritional supplement production and are looking for something new to add to your shelves, gelatin products are a great choice. Custom Collagen offers beef peptides, which are kosher, non-GMO and paleo-friendly, and fish peptides for those who don’t eat beef. Gelatin supplements are a natural way to help your customers improve skin and bone health, promote better digestion and maintain a healthy heart.

When used in topical applications like facial masks, gelatin helps infuse the skin with moisture and nutrients that stimulate and promote collagen growth.

Gelatin consists of proteins that are an essential part of wound healing. Gelatin also contains the amino acid glycine, which can help reduce inflammation. Medical gelatin helps wounds move from the inflammation stage to the healing stage faster.

NF-grade gelatin is typically used to manufacture hard and soft capsules. Hard capsules, made by dipping steel pins into gelatin, mostly contain powder-based medicines, while soft gel capsules are for liquids, pastes or oils. Manufacturers also can use gelatin as a binder or thickener in pharmaceuticals like tablets, salves, syrups, plasma expanders and other supplements.

It’s common to use gelatin for adhesives because of its strong bond, odorless nature and recyclability. Many industries use adhesive gelatin because it’s also non-toxic, biodegradable and water-soluble. Gelatin glue is applied to things like paper towel rolls, sustainable packaging, U.S. currency, laminated chipboard, book bindings and folding cartons.

Ballistic gelatin is a standardized medium for testing ammunition to determine its depth of penetration and the expansion of the bullet for hunting, as well as for military and crime-stopping applications. It’s used mainly because it closely simulates the density and viscosity of human and animal muscle tissue. Ballistic gelatin is also used by medical universities and hospitals to calibrate ultrasounds and imaging equipment because it simulates human organ density so accurately. Custom Collagen is a proud distributor of VYSE® Professional Grade Ballistic Gelatin which is the standard used by the US military.

Uses for gelatin include everything from facial wash to sunscreen to shampoo and luxury cosmetics. Custom Collagen manufactures gelatin that’s dermatologically well-tolerated because we use natural products that aren’t derived from GMOs. We also avoid other additives that might irritate certain skin types.

Just as humans use gelatin to grow and strengthen fingernails, equine gelatin can promote the healthy development of horse hooves and coats. Equine gelatin is also a great supplement for horses’ joints, repairing damaged cartilage, reducing stiffness and aiding in wound repair.

Gelatin for laboratory use is quite common in the study of microbiology. Lab gelatin can be used as a growth medium to help discover the unique properties of enzymes and other cultures. Gelatin uses also include its application as a stabilizer and thickener to improve the study of cultures.

Low-bloom gelatin for pet food is an ideal binding solution because it helps kibble stay together while also lending additional protein to the recipe. The end result is nutritious treats and meals for pets and a stable line of pet food production that allows manufacturers to maintain their bottom line.

During the mid 19th century, it was discovered that gelatin was a highly suitable agent for bonding celluloid film to imaging layers made up of sub-micron-sized grains of silver halide crystals. It’s often used in all of the layers of a photographic product, including the silver halide crystal-containing emulsion layer, top coating layer, sub-coating layer, anti-halogen layers and non-curl layer.