Gelatin in pesto and vitamin pills?! Keuringsdienst van Waarde investigates

That there is gelatin in sweets and pudding is no secret. But gelatin in pesto spread, cheese bitterballen and vitamin pills?! What is that animal-based, slippery stuff doing in there? The people at Keuringsdienst van Waarde wondered the same thing, and so they set out to investigate, as they always do.

And that also means making a few calls to ‘experts’. One of my favorite parts of the programme. When a so-called expert is asked what gelatin does in food, the answer is ‘to give it some extra flair’. And when asked ‘what does gelatin actually taste like?’ we hear: ‘gelatinous’. Right. You try explaining that.

Firm and binding

Gelatin is made from pigs or cows. It is extracted from the marrow of bones and from skin. Skin, for example, contains collagen: a protein naturally found in the body that provides firmness and binding. We humans have collagen too—when we are young, even in abundance. As we get older, it decreases. Hence why your skin is still so taut and wrinkle-free when you are 18. And hence why there are so many collagen pills, powders and creams for… people who aren’t 18.

Right, I’m getting sidetracked. In any case, gelatin gives certain foods firmness and structure. Bavarois, for example, stays firm thanks to it, as we learn from Holtkamp pastry shop. The lemon meringue pie we see in the episode is a good example. It stands proudly upright and gives a little when pressed, but it isn’t rubbery. The same applies to sweets and pudding.

But a tompouce doesn’t need gelatin, the pastry chef says. Egg yolks and starch already provide enough binding in this pastry. Yet many supermarket tompouces contain gelatin. What’s the story?

Risk of collapse

According to Cees Holtkamp—the head honcho at Holtkamp pastry shop—it mainly has to do with transporting the tompouces. Supermarket tompouces travel all over the country. A trip in a refrigerated truck isn’t without its risks. A slightly bumpy road can easily make a tompouce collapse. Thanks to gelatin, the tompouce remains nicely firm and upright, making the risk of collapse considerably smaller. Very practical, then.

Not tasty

Why gelatin is used in vlaflip, pesto and chewing gum is still the question. Gelatin doesn’t even improve a product’s flavor. In fact, the flavor simply gets lost. The gelatin doesn’t melt away properly in your mouth, so you can barely taste anything. And the mouthfeel is just strange. I would almost call it gelatinous, but then again, I wouldn’t exactly sound like an expert.

Making gelatin

How is gelatin made? That has always remained somewhat mysterious. One striking thing about the episode is that gelatin producers are standing their ground: Keuringsdienst van Waarde is not welcome to film inside the factory. Everyone in Europe was called, but not a single producer agreed. Only gelatin guru Marc Vermeulen welcomes presenter Ersin Kiris into his home in Bruges. The chairman of the gelatin association is willing to show how gelatin is made. He cuts pork skin loose, adds water and vinegar, and lets it steep for 4 hours. According to him, this loosens the collagen. The swollen substance then goes into the oven for 4 hours. The solution is filtered and then goes into the refrigerator for 2 hours. It is then ready to be processed into food products.

Substitute

It turns out that gelatin cannot simply be replicated. A bitterballen manufacturer says they have made vegan bitterballen with oyster mushrooms—without animal gelatin, but with an animal-friendly substitute. The inside of the bitterbal is nowhere near as liquid as that of a bitterbal made with gelatin. Frustration comes through on the phone. According to the bitterballen manufacturer, producers aren’t doing everything they can to find an optimal gelatin substitute. If we are to believe gelatin guru Marc Vermeulen, gelatin is not a problem. According to him, it is a ‘healthy and honest product’. Well, I think veg(etari)ans and religious people may see that differently.

Also read:

• What’s the difference between bouillon and stock?
• 13 times you’ll feel sorry for your parents (or grandparents)
• 16 bizarre snacks from the seventies

Source and images: Keuringsdienst van Waarde