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Okay, based on Korion's alternative to bone broth question, I am debating trying to add gelatin to my diet. I have some aversion to bone broth. I don't know what it is. This seems like a viable option to me. I just have absolutely no idea what to do with it! If you don't make a Jello mold out of it or cover it in cool whip. How do you eat it?

I'd love some links to good brands of gelatin too.

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You could also try eating phở a couple times a week. – Travis Culp Aug 31 2011 at 19:09
Oh god. Sometimes I am such a nOOb. What is pho? And where would I get it? Asian market? – sherpamelissa Aug 31 2011 at 19:13
pho is delicious vietnamese soup that the broth is bone broth and they put tripe and sinew and other meat like that in it (just hold the noodles) – Thumper Aug 31 2011 at 20:12
Yeah, you could order it where it's basically just beef soup with nothing exotic. I ordered one with tendons in it and it was really disgusting. – Travis Culp Aug 31 2011 at 20:30
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Wow, Terry that was a pretty patronizing way of putting that information out there for me. Thanks. There is a huge difference between buying and cooking bones for hours and popping some gelatin in my tea at night. I didn't think I had to drink bone broth plain, no, it just doesn't appeal to me. – sherpamelissa Sep 1 2011 at 14:47
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12 Answers

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Have you ever heard of aspic? Before "fruit" flavored jello was the standard gelatin-based food, aspics (basically meat jello) was the norm.

From wikipedia...

Historically, meat jellies were made before fruit and vegetable jellies. By the Middle Ages at the latest, cooks had discovered that a thickened meat broth could be made into a jelly. A detailed recipe for aspic is found in Le Viandier, written in or around 1375.[2] In the 18th century, Marie-Antoine Carême created chaud froid in France. Chaud froid means "hot cold" in French, referring to foods that were prepared hot and served cold. Aspic was used as an chaud froid sauce in many cold fish and poultry meals. The sauce added moisture and flavor to the food.[3] Carême invented various types of aspic and ways of preparing it.[4]

Aspic, when used to hold meats, prevents them from becoming spoiled. The gelatin keeps out air and bacteria, keeping the cooked meat fresh.[5] Aspic came into prominence in America in the early 20th century.[6]:514 By the 1950s, meat aspic was a popular dinner staple throughout the United States[7] as were other gelatin-based dishes such as tomato aspic.[6]:292 Cooks used to show off aesthetic skills by creating inventive aspics.[8]

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I have heard of aspic, but honestly it sounds kind of grosser than bone broth. I am a picky eater! I am much, much better than I was 5 years ago but I still really have to push myself sometimes. – sherpamelissa Aug 31 2011 at 18:49
Hahaha! I tried :) – FED at LiveCaveman.com Aug 31 2011 at 18:51
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gag And I appreciate the effort. gag – sherpamelissa Aug 31 2011 at 18:57
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Yes, in Italy we use aspic a lot. For lobster, crab, meat, cakes. Anything. Basically just a clearish coating covering the tasty inner treat. Is usually used as the upper coating in foi-gras even though it is jarred. – Kathi Aug 31 2011 at 21:41
Love me some headcheese paleohacks.com/questions/17955/… – sean Sep 1 2011 at 12:09
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I make green/herbal tea jello. Five bags of good green tea and five bags of hibiscus tea brewed in 2 liters of water. I add a few trace mineral drops, some vitamin C powder, and some stevia or fruit juice to the liquid base. It's really pretty tasty. Four heaping tablespoons of gelatin powder.

I use http://www.amazon.com/Now-Foods-Gelatin-Natural-Powder/dp/B000MGOYPO. And yes, it comes in that awesome plastic bag.

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Sweet! That is a very fancy bag! Now this sounds like something I could do! Do you just do this all to taste? Is it gross without the stevia or fruit juice? I can drink tea unsweetened. – sherpamelissa Aug 31 2011 at 18:51
Another ? - Is this like jello when it's done? Or a really thick drink? – sherpamelissa Aug 31 2011 at 19:00
You could drink it hot, I suppose, but I stick it in the fridge to make jello. Drinking warm gelatin before bed puts me right to sleep, if you want to go that route. – Erik Cisler Aug 31 2011 at 19:01
Never tried it without the stevia. But the finished product is definitely not sweet, so I imagine it would be fine without any at all. – Erik Cisler Aug 31 2011 at 19:02
So just tea and gelatin might be okay. I drink dandelion tea most nights before bed and I'm wondering if I could combine the two. Thanks so much for the idea and the answers! – sherpamelissa Aug 31 2011 at 19:06
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I like to mix it with pumpkin to make a pumpkin pie-esque dessert.

I use about a cup and a half of mashed pumpkin, pinch of cloves, dash of cinnamon, vanilla and stevia (or honey) and mix it with two or three sachets of gelatin. Then I add in 1/2 cup of heated liquid (water, almond milk, coconut milk, cream, whatever) and stir until smooth. It sets in about two hours and while it isn't exactly pumpkin pie, it tastes like it, darn it, and that's good enough for me. :D

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Oooh this sounds totally doable! Thanks lady. – sherpamelissa Aug 31 2011 at 19:39
You're welcome! :) – Kaz Aug 31 2011 at 19:47
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two options for us:

Just add some to stews of soups. If you eat it warm, you won't even notice it. If the stew or soup is refrigerated, the liquid will become jelly. But you can reheat it again, and it will dissapear. Magic!

Mix some fruits, heat them gently, put in some gelatin, let it cool: dessert! Works wonderfully with all berries, bananas, apricots. Even add some coconut milk. Of course, the more gelatin, the more jelly like it will be. We like it not too jelly-like.

Good luck

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Um, yeah... jelly like... not good. I love the idea of adding it to stews. The "gravy" gets kind of gelatiny anyway. Good thing fall is right around the corner! I will have to buy my bag o'gelatin and get ready with all these ideas! – sherpamelissa Aug 31 2011 at 19:57
yes really "bone broth" is nothing more than (or it seems a Paleo term) for soup stock. You do not have to eat it in a solid form. Just eat the soup. You can even buy a precbar b qd chicken and if you let it cool you will see the Jelly in the tray. When not cooled it is just the juice. Chciken is the fastes soup (broth) to make and they virtually all have the gelatin. How much it "gels" also deoends on how much water. less water=less gel. – jo60 May 16 2012 at 20:54
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I usually stir it in to hot tea when taking it as a supplement.

However....

You can make a "gravy" by introducing a lot of gelatin into pan sauce.

You can make panna cotta, which is heavy cream and gelatin (sweetened, but you can figure out how best to work with that for your own diet).

You can melt it into soup or stew, as people have mentioned elsewhere in this thread.

you can mash fruit (blueberries, raspberries, etc.) into it and mix the resulting mash with home-whipped heavy cream, or yogurt, or creme fraiche, or clotted cream, or coconut oil.

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I don't (yet), but you could try putting some into a soup or stew as some extra joint-healthy protein.

Just make sure you use unflavored gelatin and not the sugar- and chemical-delivery vehicle that is gelatin dessert.

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A lot of people I know take this kind. Makes my belly hurt and I love the bone broth so I don't do this myself. But I have heard that these folks dissolve it in their drinks almost treating it like a protein powder.

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That was the link I got in Korion's thread. I just don't know what to do with it. As much as I love coffee, coffee jello doesn't really sound delicious. I am a texture person and it just sounds so gross! I don't know what my aversion to bone broth is. I don't really buy any meat with giant bones or have a butcher. Plus, I really don't know how I would incorporate it into what I already eat, I guess. – sherpamelissa Aug 31 2011 at 18:59
I use great lakes, its from grassfed cows. I just make it with hot water and drink it plain or eat it like plain jello. I know there are a billion ways to incorporate it into cooking/recipes but I just assume get it over with. I use it strictly to get extra protein and help me to digest meat better. I am too lazy to make real jello with it, I guess! – Senneth Aug 31 2011 at 19:00
Do you eat cottage cheese? I think this kind - (gotta read that other thread, sorry) dissolves completely rather than plain Knox type which gets clumpy (it may also not be a very good quality). People put it in juice, which I know you ain't gonna do sistah. But if you do the dairy (particularly very low reward non-fat cottage cheese) I think it would disappear in that. – none Aug 31 2011 at 19:04
I put that kind in smoothies and custards – Jeff Aug 31 2011 at 19:07
Oooh no to cottage cheese too. CURDS! EW! I can't even let them touch my tongue. I used to make myself eat it for the high protein content and I would blend it with a hand blender and chocolate protein powder. I realize I am being difficult here. Sorry! – sherpamelissa Aug 31 2011 at 19:08
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Puddings and shakes! I love gelatin!

http://raspberrycoconut.com/2011/08/18/quick-n-fluffy-48-calorie-chocolate-shake/

http://raspberrycoconut.com/2011/07/25/chocolate-moo-sse/

http://raspberrycoconut.com/2011/07/31/chocolate-milk-shake-with-gelatin/

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I love these ideas if I wasn't going to try to eat it every day. These would be a great once a week treat for me. Thanks! – sherpamelissa Aug 31 2011 at 19:12
I will definitely be drinking your milkshake sometime in the near future. – Higgs Aug 31 2011 at 23:43
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My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. – RaspberryCoconut Sep 2 2011 at 18:24
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I use sheet gelatin. Oh man.. there are so many things that you can do with gelatin - the more liquid added means less firmness so you won't get too creeped out by the "jelly" factor. 3c liquid to one sheet is a very soft set.. 1c liquid to 1 sheet and you can bounce a quarter off it. For reals, you can gel whatever you want. Booze, green juice, throw into stock, it's used in pate, mousse - savory and sweet, aspic, terrines. You could make a blancmange with dairy or almond milk.

The easiest, I think, would be make a really good gelatinized stock. Reheat and it will melt and you can just sip the nutritious deliciousness easy peasy :)

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Put a tablespoon in warm broth, stir to disolve, drink.

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I agree with this response. Gelatin is tasteless. Dissolve it in broth ... or any hot liquid. – Evelyn aka CarbSane Aug 31 2011 at 21:52
This is how I do gelatin as well, though I really like the idea of the green tea jello! – Beth-WeightMaven Sep 1 2011 at 0:47
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I make a low-sugar jello with twice as much gelatin. It's my go-to "dessert".

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Like an actual "Sugar Free Jello" or is there one that doesn't use a bunch of preservatives? – sherpamelissa Aug 31 2011 at 19:11
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I make plain gelatin and use it in Rasberry Coconut's pudding recipe or add it to smoothies. I've also made kombucha jello with it using homebrewed kombucha! Delicious and low-cal, low-sugar... I suppose you could also use a little fruit juice or something. – Gazelle Aug 31 2011 at 20:43
I use Great Lakes gelatin (available on Amazon) and add maybe 1/4 cup sugar to 4 cups liquid. I have Fructose Malabsorption, so sucrose works well for me. – Dragonfly Aug 31 2011 at 20:48
Just a thought - since sucrose is 50% fructose, wouldn't something like rice syrup (which is ~99% glucose) be better (given the fructose absorption). – Andy Aug 31 2011 at 21:23
Andy~ It could be considered better if you are trying to eliminate ALL fructose, but the amount I eat in the gelatin & dark chocolate (my only 2 regular fructose sources) is pretty minimal. I also don't get binges triggered by sucrose, unlike some folks. – Dragonfly Aug 31 2011 at 21:34
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I use leaf gelatin in a lot of cooked food. Chicken in cream sauce, chicken stew, beef stew, lamb casserole, Irish stew etc. Just cut the leaf gelatin up (I use two sheets) and cover with either water or wine until it goes soft. Then stir into the casserole / stew whatever and .

It gives the sauce a wonderful mouth feel!

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