setting the records straight: the great gelatin debate

yesterday, my sister-in-law was telling me about the vegetarian fare she had available at her party. she pointed out the rice casserole, spinach salad and to the pretzel jell-o. "actually, jell-o is a by-product." i replied. "what??? what do you mean?" she exclaimed. "oh, we'll talk later." i said, not wanting to scare her at her own party.

so for you lindsay, and anyone else who cares... here is why jell-o is not vegetarian and why I do not eat marshmallows (except for these), most gum and fruit snacks, etc. sorry if this ruins everything:

Gelatin

The status of gelatin is a controversial topic. True gelatin consists of denatured proteins, and comes from the processed hides or bones of animals, usually pigs or cows. This also affects the status of some brands of marshmallows.^[4] Most kosher products today use fish-based gelatin.

Another issue with gelatin is whether it is parve ('not dairy, nor meat'). A kosher parve 'gelatin' made from vegetable gums such as carrageenan combined with food starch from tapioca (which is also suitable for vegans) is commercially available in supermarkets which have substantial Kosher food sections. It does behave differently than protein-based gelatin, however, and cannot always be substituted directly for animal gelatin without modification of the recipe (mixing it with hot water instead of cold water). Other gelatin-like materials available include combinations of carrageenan and other vegetable gums, such as guar gum, locust-bean gum, xanthan gum, gum acacia, and agar, chemically modified food starch, and chemically modified pectins. Recently, such products have been used in prepackaged gelled fruit products, replacing animal-based gelatin.

Although most gelatin is considered non-kosher, several prominent rabbinic authorities have noted that gelatin undergoes such extensive processing and chemical changes that it no longer has the status of meat, and as such may be considered parve and kosher. This is the position adopted by some Orthodox rabbis, including Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the former Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel.

YUM!