Most gummy products including gummy bears, rings, worms, frogs, sharks, apples, peaches, and television characters, are gelatin-based, so although checking the label is important you will almost always find that your gummy treats have beef or pork by-products in them.

Gelatin is made from collagen. Collagen is most cheaply derived from scraps in the leather and food production industry. If you are somewhere that has a lot of pigs, there will be pig-derived gelatin, mostly using the skin and other less edible parts.

Gelatin is a protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones with water. It is usually obtained from cows or pigs. Gelatin is not vegan. However, there is a product called “agar agar” that is sometimes marketed as “gelatin,” but it is vegan.

While it’s often rumored that jello is made from horse or cow hooves, this is incorrect. The hooves of these animals are primarily made up of keratin — a protein that can’t be made into gelatin.

Since gelatin is not vegetarian, you may substitute it with agar-agar. If using this ingredient, microwaving is not necessary. Just add to the 1/4 cup cream, stir and let sit until needed.

The texture is also considerably different as a gelatin will result in an item with a jelly consistency rather than the more syrupy and gummy product that you will get with pectin. Nutritionally speaking, the two are not interchangeable at all.

Each envelope of Knox® Unflavoured Gelatine will gel 2 cups of liquid. This makes unflavoured gelatine extremely versatile: it can be used to create desserts, salads, main dishes, jams and jellies, even ice cream and frozen yogurt!

Knox Gelatin Nutrition and Uses It is always produced from animal- or fish-based sources. It’s usually made from pork bones and skin.

So, why this sudden shortage of gelatin? The lockdown is to blame for this shortage, which highlights the delicate and intricate linkages in the manufacturing value chain. Travel curbs for cattle movement and abattoirs have hurt gelatin production, causing supply disruptions at drugmakers.

Sure-Jell makes a pectin called MCP (Modified Citrus Pectin). It’s marketed as a premium pectin using citrus pectin but it’s hard to find except on the west coast.

Pectin is a water-soluble fiber derived from non-animal byproducts, whereas gelatin is a protein derived from animals. Pectin has more specific uses, while gelatin can be used in a wider variety of applications, but does not yield the same results.