So many dishes are made with gelatin. They include many summer favorites. Both sweet and
savory dishes have been based on gelatin.
Children love fruit flavored gelatin based dishes such as jello. A more adult dinner table can be
graced with a salad in a gelatin mould. Mousses and cheesecakes can both call for gelatin.
So what can a vegan or a strict vegetarian use who wants to avoid animal products. Even meat
eaters may wish to use an alternative to gelatin for health reasons.
Gelatin is derived from beef or pork. Cooks sometimes make their own by boiling bones or pigs'
trotters but most often it is bought in powder form ready made in packets. It can then simply be
added to water that is just below boiling point. This provides the basis for a whole range of
jellied dishes.
A vegan or vegetarian can use rice starch, arrowroot or potato starch for some of these dishes.
A fruit or vegetable flan can be covered in a jelly like glaze by blending a little of one of these
products with water and then adding it to boiling water. It is important to stir the mixture
vigorously to prevent lumps forming. If lumps do form use a food processor to remove them.
But for a molded jelly shape you will need something different. A seaweed based product called
agar-agar is the thing to use here. This can be bought in powder form and added to hot water
just like gelatin. It is even available to buy it in flavored forms that will make the traditional jello
that children and many adults love.
Be careful not to keep an agar-agar jelly too long. They should be eaten on the same day as
they are made because they provide an ideal environment for bacteria to grow.
But they are quick to make and quicker than gelatin to set. So it is not really a problem to make
one quickly just before you need it.
