Thermal stability of prepared chicken feet gelatine gel in comparison with commercial gelatines

Gelatine is, due to its functional properties, currently widely used not only in the food industry (in the production of confectionery, dairy products, canned food) but also in pharmacy (soft and hard capsules) and cosmetics (creams, lotions) where it applies its ability to form thermoreversible gel stronger than most other gelling agents. What is more, it provides further excellent properties including emulsifying, foaming, stabilizing, film-forming, water and fat binding, texturizing, thickening, and adhesive attributes which makes it a very important hydrocolloid. Gelatine is obtained from the raw material of animal tissues containing collagen, usually mammalian skin or bones. For religious reasons in some countries, pork or bovine gelatine must be replaced by an alternative form, such as poultry or fish gelatine. The quality of gelatine is assessed mostly by the strength of gelatine gel which strongly depends on ambient temperature or humidity. Extraction conditions may also significantly affect the quality of gelatine. This study examined possible changes in the strength of gelatine gels prepared from laboratory-produced chicken feet gelatine and compared them with commercially available pork and beef gelatines at temperatures of 23, 29, and 35 °C at 60 and 80% humidity. While at 23 °C thermal stability of prepared chicken gelatine was monitored higher than in commercial gelatines, experiments at 29 and 35 °C provided equivalent results for chicken and commercial gelatines. Therefore, prepared chicken gelatine offers a significant potential to become an alternative to traditional gelatines. The information about gelatine gels thermal stability is of great importance for applications not only in the food; but also in the pharmaceutical industry. © 2020 Potravinarstvo Slovak Journal of Food Sciences