Leaf gelatin

Most people have used gelatin in their kitchen, usually in the form of a powder.  If you ever get a chance to use it in leaf form, I urge you to give it a try.  The picture above shows several sheets of leaf gelatin.  They are rather hard to see clearly so here's another photo of a single sheet.

Leaf gelatin comes in four strengths:  bronze, silver, gold, and platinum, in ascending order of thickening capacity as measured by what is known as "bloom strength".  I keep silver leaf gelatin sheets on hand for a few different things that I make on a regular basis.  The sheets are about 2 1/2 inches wide and about 8 inches long.  They are soaked in cold water prior to using.  When they are soft and squishable (Is that even a word?  I'll use it regardless.), the water must be wrung out of them.  Then you toss it in whatever hot liquid mixture you are using and it melts and dissolves away, becoming part of the mixture.  I prefer using this type of gelatin rather than powder.  It's easy and it's very effective, plus there is no chance of undissolved granules of powder.  It dissolves more slowly than powder, but it gives a clearer gel.

Gelatin is a thermoreversible cold-setting polymer.  That sounds impressive enough to warrant attention.  But more importantly it makes great desserts.  Cake glazes, puddings, mousses and a host of other dishes that require thickening and setting might all use leaf gelatin.  It's not something one typically finds in the supermarket but there are plenty of specialty places you can locate online that provide this product as well as many other hard-to-find items for the avid cook and baker.