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“gelatin that does not need heat or blooming??? hmmm…..” this was my first response when discovering sosa’s instagel. sosa describes it as a substitute for sheet gelatin that does not need heat. substitute 8g for 1 sheet, blend into your base and it will set in thirty minutes. sounds great, lets get some!
i tried to research instant gelatin a little more. I wanted to know about how it was made and what made it “instant.” not a lot of information is available on the subject. the ingredients on the packaging list only gelatin and maltodextrin. I can only assume it is a form of dehydrated gelatin mixed with maltodextrin to prevent clumping.
the first experiments with it were to make a basic jelly. this let us test the dosage and flavor. sosa recommended 8g to replace 1 sheet of gel. this gave us a jelly that was a little rubbery. The next batch we used 6g to replace 1 sheet. the jelly was still firm but soft enough to work.
after some basic tests we are now applying this to a pastry in our afternoon tea – brown sugar sponge cake, cream cheese mouse and a strawberry puree set with the instagel. the advantage being time and flavor. this puree is very easy and fast to work with. fresh strawberries, sugar, instagel and a little ascorbic acid blended in the robocoupe and poured into a frame. out of the blender the jelly has an almost mousse-like consistency. it is very easy to spread and does not run everywhere like a hot gel would. sosa says it will set in 30 minutes. in this application it begins to set in about 10 so have your molds ready.
the other advantage is flavor. the “fresh” flavor of fruit will begin to disappear at temperatures above 40C. since this whole process is done with cold products none of the fruit loses its flavor. instagel will not be replacing my traditional gelatin, but it has found a home in products that are very heat sensitive.
here is the recipe we are using in our frame. it is based on fresh fruit and not puree. it will give you a gel that can cut clean and will have a soft but stable texture on a buffet at room temperature.
1.5k fresh strawberry
400g sugar
160g instagel
2g ascorbic acid
- place strawberries in robocoupe
- mix together dry ingredients
- combine dry ingredients and strawberries
- blend until smooth and pour into molds
Tags: component, insta gel, strawberry