Sheet Gelatine or Gelatine Powder: Key Differences, Uses & How to Choose

Sheet gelatine or gelatine powder

Sheet gelatine or gelatine powder? We are often asked by our MM Ingredients customers if they should order Gelatine sheets (sometimes called Gelatine leaves) or Gelatine powder.

They are essentially two different forms of the same thing, but they need to be treated differently when you use them, and, because they can each result in slightly different outcomes in a dish, a particular recipe may recommend one type over the other

Comparing Gelatine Sheet and Gelatine Powder:

Sheet gelatine

Powder Gelatine

Best for  

Mirror glazes Clear jellies

Delicate pastry work

Everyday baking Mousses and other thick structured desserts Marshmallows 

Gummie Sweets

Ease of use

Easy to measure out by counting, but harder to make incremental adjustments

Doesn’t clump easily

Easy to measure by weight, so very fine adjustments can be made, and therefore it is easier to scale down recipes accurately

  It can form clumps if not bloomed properly

How to prepare

Soak in cold water

Strain, squeeze, add to your liquid, heat until dissolved. Do not boil.

Soak for 30 mins in 3-4 times its own weight of cold liquid Then heat gently until it’s a cleat liquid. Do not boil.

Texture

Light, ‘melt-in-the-mouth’, ‘silky’ mouth-feel

Firmer set, can be used to produce a more ‘chewy’ texture if required

Clarity

Highly transparent

Used when high clarity is less important

Can I swap Gelatine Powder for Gelatine Sheets in a recipe?

If a recipe recommends using either sheet or powdered Gelatine, then we would suggest that you stick with that option. It is possible to substitute one for the other, but the final outcome may not always be exactly the same.

Some sources may suggest conversion ratios, but be aware that these do not always work well.

For a start, Gelatine sheets absorb less liquid than the powder, which can make a difference in a recipe.

It is also necessary to remember that there are different strengths (measured in a unit called ‘bloom’) of Gelatine, whether you are using sheets (leaves) or powder, and so it’s not as simple as taking ‘a Gelatine sheet’ and converting that into spoons of ‘a Gelatine powder’.

The best thing to do is to decide on your source of gelatine, after checking the recipe, and then start to work with it. As you use it you will be able to understand how it works, and how things like the ambient temperature affect the gelling process. You can then make small adjustments as you go, and if you end up with a product that is too soft, or too chewy, then change the gelatine proportion the next time.