What makes Jell-O gel?
Jell-O, like all gelatin products, is made from collagen, a protein that comes from animal skins. Jell-O is “a gelatin powder made of crystals that dissolve when placed into hot or boiling water,” said Joyce Hodel, a Kraft Foods spokeswoman. “So the crystals essentially melt to form a liquid solution. When the solution cools, the crystals start to clump together into a gel that traps water. Cold water is used to cool down the mixture to accelerate the gelling reaction.” Jell-O won’t begin to thicken and gel until the temperature approaches 55 degrees. Why are butters different colors? Butter is made from cream, and cream is produced by cows. The color of the butter depends on the color of the cream. The cream’s color depends on “certain pigments present in animal feed and pasture type, which varies seasonally,” said Jeanne Forbis, spokeswoman for Land O’Lakes. Cream is white to yellowish white, she added, but when the cream is churned into butter, the fat proportion increases fro
