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How to replace fish glue in your kitchen, in order to avoid a product of dubious origin and quality? Usually, those who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet want to replace fish glue with some other product. By continuing to read this article, we will see some valid alternatives to fish glue to use in the kitchen.
You should know that fish glue is a substance that thickens most of the products we know: from liquid creams, but it can also be found in some products used for cosmetics and sometimes even in medicines. It is a product that is often used in the kitchen; or we can also find it in packaged products. It should definitely be removed from the diet as it is quite heavy and difficult to digest. For this reason, it is right to start finding the right substitute for fish glue.
Fish glue is a food gelatin that is dried in sheets, widely used in the kitchen as a thickener. Obviously, given its properties, it is also used for savory preparations. Like all other gelatins, fish glue is also a product that has an animal origin. The traditional preparation of this thickener draws from a very ancient preparation technique. The technique involved the use of the swim bladder of sturgeon or similar fish.
Today, unfortunately, it is produced by hydrolysis from collagen, that is, through the connective tissue of animals. We can say that 80% of fish glue comes from pig skin. 15% is obtained from bovine bifidus, which is a thin layer of skin. The remaining 5% is mostly obtained from pig and cattle bones. Due to its origins and poor quality, more and more people are looking for the right alternative to fish glue: preferably a vegetable and vegetarian gelatin with the same thickening power.
The substance most commonly used in Europe to replace fish glue is Agar agar. Agar agar is a mix of red algae. For simplicity and practicality, it is called agar and in culinary circles, it is a vegetarian substitute produced from algae. The gelatinous substance, derived from red algae, consists of particles present in galactose, a blood sugar like glucose and fructose that is essential to support animal life.
Also known as Chinese grass and Japanese kanten, it is a white and semi-transparent vegetable gelatin containing few calories and is an excellent source of calcium, iron, and fiber. It is sold in Asian and health food stores, or online at Terza Luna, in various forms: flakes, powder, and bars, etc. It can be used in various recipes without milk and vegan as a stabilizing and thickening agent for creams, puddings, sauces, and even vegetarian marshmallows.
Even carrageenan can be used to replace fish glue. It is also a gelatin derived from red algae and dissolves with heat, but it differs from Agar Agar because it allows you to obtain a delicate, transparent, and elastic gelatin. To obtain the gelatinous mixture, it must be melted at a temperature above 65°. Carrageenan can be. Compared to Agar agar, it is more difficult to find, although available online and in some organic supermarkets.
If for example you are a beer drinker, you should know that filtered beers contain little or no yeast. Naturally, yeast is necessary for beer production; no one wants to drink unleavened beer. Left to itself, the yeast will naturally settle, clarifying the beer. However, this does not happen quickly enough for large-scale breweries. Their goal is to produce and ship.
Therefore, fish glue is added to cask-conditioned beers and, when incorporated into the unrefined mixture, it freezes with the yeast. This jelly-like substance will settle at the bottom of the cask, leaving a filtered product.
So is it necessary to use fish glue to filter beer? No. Once again, the yeast will settle on its own. But the process is accelerated by using fish glue, which obviously increases profits. It is a common ingredient used in the clarification of fermented beverages. But it also has other uses.
It can be used as gelatin in desserts and as a preservative for eggs. There are some vegan alternatives to fish glue, which many prefer to use. Irish moss is one and bentonite, clay, etc.
But fish glue is also widely used in cooking: from the preparation of sweets like Bavarian cream, jelly, cheesecake, jams, gummies, panna cotta, pudding, marshmallows, and many other sweet or savory recipes.
