Bitter gelatin

[pastrygirl]

So I was working on a panna cotta recipe yesterday, and I was getting an odd, really bitter flavor. The first batch was cream, sugar, vanilla extract and yogurt, the flavor was off but I blamed the yogurt (which tasted fine on is own, but hey gotta blame something, maybe my proportions were off). The next batch I tasted before adding the yogurt or extract, so just cream, sugar, gelatin, and it was again really bitter. That was the last of the cream ( ahhh, Bhutanese accountants) so I stopped there and decided to make ricotta instead, and couldn't taste the cream on its own. The cream is UHT aseptically packaged shelf-stable, and although it is crap for other reasons, I haven't found off flavors in it yet.

So, does gelatin go bad? This stuff has been sitting in a really hot, humid kitchen for I don't know how long, maybe a year, possibly more. Everything else in this particular kitchen goes bad, so maybe sheet gelatin too? I kind of thought that stuff lasted forever.

Edited June 8, 2008 by pastrygirl (log)

[Chris Hennes]

Your question interested me, so although I am no expert on the topic I did a little digging around. First, according to www.greatlakesgelatin.com

Gelatin should be stored in a cool, dry place.  This product can be kept for 3 years as long as containers are kept tightly closed.

And secondly, according to K. Thimann and A. Page, Chemical change in gelatin resulting from the method of storage. Biochem J 24(4); 1930:

It appears, therefore, that moist storage produces a gelatin chemically different from the normal dry-stored product.

So while neither of these directly explains the bitterness, they do both seem to indicate that a) gelatin is perishable in some sense, and b) that storage in a warm or moist environment will accelerate the degradation.

[aneja_r]

I made Mango Jelly using Mango juice and unflavoured Gelatine. The jelly turned out fine but is tasting bitter. Can any one help and tell me what may be the reason. The gelatin I used is not too old and well before expiry date. Infact it was a new package that I had opened. Any help would be appreciated.

Edited June 30, 2010 by aneja_r (log)

[John DePaula]

Could it be that the gelatine is adulterated in some way? Was it manufactured in China by any chance? My advice would be: stop using it.

[aneja_r]

The brand I used is made in New Zealand!

[aneja_r]

Is the bitterness related to the quality of gelatine only? or could there be other reason?