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One of the main reasons to learn how to make bone broth as a base for homemade soups and sauces is to supply hydrophilic colloids to the diet. This opens up the door to obtaining the numerous benefits of gelatin to health.
The hydrophilic nature of the gelatin in homemade meat broths has the unusual property of attracting digestive juices to itself. This is in the same manner as raw foods.
There is an extensive amount of research on gelatin benefits in the diet. Gelatin obviously aids digestion by rendering digestive juices more effective by attracting them to itself. It also has been found successful in treating digestive disorders such as IBS, colitis, and even Crohn’s disease.
Anemia and other blood disorders respond in healing fashion to gelatin in the diet. Interestingly, the first known reference to gelatin is from 204 AD. Chinese writings of that time describe gelatin as an agent to arrest bleeding or hemorrhage.
Benefits of Gelatin as a Home Remedy
Homemade stock is indispensable when a stomach flu makes its way around a household. It can slow and stop diarrhea when small amounts are consumed every few minutes.
In addition to stopping the runs, gelatin assists in neutralizing whatever intestinal poison is causing the problem. Unlike anti-diarrhea medicine from the pharmacy which only masks symptoms, gelatin goes to the root of the problem and facilitates healing.
Households where gelatinous broths, soups, and sauces are frequently consumed often get passed by when a stomach bug is making the rounds. Time spent in the kitchen preparing this age old remedy will be repaid many times over with fewer sleepless nights from ill children. No doubt fewer visits to the doctor and ER too.
How to Enjoy More Gelatin Benefits
A frequent question from folks new to Traditional Cooking who are enthusiastically seeking the benefits of gelatin to health, is “how do I get my stock to gel?” What does this mean? A successful batch of homemade bone broth turns into a jelly like substance in the refrigerator. This is due to the gelatin solidifying into a semi-solid state as it cools.
The #1 most common reason for stock that does not gel in the refrigerator is too much water was used to make the stock.
The amount of filtered water should just cover the bones. As the water boils off, feel free to add more water as the stock simmers for the required 4- 24 hours (or up to 72 hours if making beef stock), but only ever add enough additional water to cover the bones.
Stock can always be boiled down on the stove if too much water was inadvertently used. You can even boil it way down to a very concentrated, syrupy, reduction sauce, known as fumee, and then reconstitute with water when you are ready to use it.
Get More Gelatin in Your Stock
Is your stock is already gelling nicely but you want even more gelatin in the final product? Then be sure to ask your local poultry farmer for the heads and feet from your pastured chickens. They add loads of nutritious and healing gelatin to stock.
Another tip is to scald the feet in boiling water to remove the skin before placing them in the stockpot. This will allow even more gelatin to get into your stock.
One final tip is to always start with cold water. Let the bones sit in the water with the bit of vinegar for 30 minutes to an hour before turning on the heat. This allows the fibers of bones and cartilage to open slowly. When this occurs, the maximum amount of flavorful juices and gelatin are released.
Gelatin FAQ
The Reason You Need More Gelatin in Your Diet
Gelatin and Collagen Hydrolysate: What’s the Difference?
Hydrolyzed Collagen Benefits
5 Reasons Your Stock Won’t Gel
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Source: Gelatin in Nutrition and Medicine, Gotthoffer
Soup week coming up fast http://t.co/xURR118
Ok, crazy question here from a beginner – but what is the relation between this gelatin and a gelatin you make homemade jello with? How do you, and can you, make your own healthy gelatin for homemade jello?
Can you please address the canning issue? I live in an area where power is iffy so we can’t really rely on freezers. I’ve put an awful lot of time and effort into raising my chickens (and butchering them myself) to provide the best food for my family. I sure hate to think I’m wasting this by canning my stock to have it on hand in the winter.
Also, can you please elaborate on the value of eating the heads? I have 15 heads in a bag in the freezer but just can’t bring myself to actually DO it. The feet do add a lot, I’ve found. I skin the “socks” and use a needle nose pliers to clip the nails off. (Sheesh, if I can do that I ought to be able to use the heads, lol!)
Thanks so much!
Hi Vicki, if you have a cool cellar, that will do fine for storing lactofermented jars of fruits and veggies. I don’t eat the heads, I just put them in the stock to add more gelatin.
the-wonders-of-gelatin-and-how-to-get-more-in-your-stock
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Why do you allow an advertisement for Kellogg’s Fruit Loops on your page?
I block ads such as this the best I can but it is not a perfect science unfortunately. The answer is not to remove all ads from my site either as many of the ads are helpful and beneficial. I trust that my readers are able to tell the difference and realize that not all ads reflect my own personal views.
Can I tell you a funny story? Many great inventions are discovered accidently and I think yesterday I came across and new and renewable building material. I was making kombucha tea and had boiled some water and poured it over 1 cup of organic sugar. I stirred it and got distracted and rushed it into the fridge to cool for a minute or two while I dealt with the immediate issue. My distraction became an hour and I came back to a most surprising senario. The spoon I had used to stir it was permanently cemented in the “liquid”, rock hard, solid state, immovable! It turned out I had poured 1 cup of boiling water over 1 cup of beef gelatin. Concrete move over. You have competition!
Just curious, to get even more gelatin in your diet….could you use the some of the natural gelatins on the market or do you not recommend that?
The plain powdered gelatin like Great Lakes or Bernard Jensen brands are ok .. yes, they can be used. They are no substitute for stocks and soups though. They are fine in a pinch or to add even more gelatin to your diet if you like. Be aware that these powdered gelatins contain very small amounts of MSG, so if you are super sensitive, it might bother you.
I do the crockpot method. 36 hours on low and it works great. We always have organic chicken but the only feet I can get my hands on are at the Asian grocery store. They’re really clean (although I wash them in vinegar water first) and my stock is very gelatinous.
I was so thankful when I learned of the crockpot method (talk about fix it and forget it)… And it gels up beautifully everytime! I don’t cook mine for 36 hours though, my recipe calls for 12 hours on low. Any thoughts on the benefit of cooking longer?
Do you keep the lid on or off when simmering?
I keep it on, but some of the water evaporates off anyway.
I use a crockpot and my chicken broth has been gelling nicely even without heads or feet. I get the chicken from a local farmer and it makes delicious broth! I am making mexican soup later today with it and my mouth is watering already!
Interesting about the anti-hemmorhaging (ugh I can’t spell that at all) properties. I noticed in my last birth that I had very minimal blood loss (just got the records from the OB for my midwife)- hopefully consuming lots of broth will help me with the next one in March, also!