You may have used it in your cakes? You have found it in desserts or candies.
For you, it is a tasteless tool that only serves to give consistency. But did you know that, in the past, it was included in the diet of hospital patients because of its many health benefits? Let's take a look at gelatin, a fortifier that hides its secrets well... as long as you don't take just any gelatin!

At first glance, it doesn't look very appetizing...

Even though vegetable gelatin exists, it is usually obtained from the skin, bones and cartilage of animals (mostly pigs).
It is obtained by extracting the collagen contained in these parts of the animal. The process includes grinding, hydrolysis, purification, extraction, concentration and finally drying. 

Solvents (including hydrochloric acid) are used during industrial manufacturing and, even if no trace of them remains in the finished product, this is not really reassuring.

Gelatin is used to give consistency to liquids such as sauces in ready meals or cream desserts and, of course, the famous crocodile-shaped candies. This is why it is used in many dishes.

Gelatin is available in the form of very fine, colorless and tasteless sheets or granules. You have probably already used it in your recipes.

So far, it doesn't sound very appealing, I grant you.
However... 

The ally of convalescents

From a nutritional point of view, gelatin is interesting because it contains 8 of the 9 essential amino acids that the body cannot produce.
It contains about 90% of very good quality and bioavailable proteins.

If it was used in hospitals to help patients recover (and it is still used in some hospitals to my knowledge), it is for several reasons related to one of its amino acids: glycine: 

- It acts on the restoration of the gastric mucosa and optimizes the absorption of nutrients.
- It supports the liver with its antioxidant action, which allows patients to eliminate more toxins during their recovery.
- It is also said to have anti-inflammatory properties that can help people in recovery.
- It slows down the excessive production of noradrenaline, which is involved in anxiety and stress.
- It helps people sleep better, especially when they are slow to fall asleep. One study even suggests that it is just as effective (and much less harmful) than sleeping pills! 

These properties are extremely valuable when you are in hospital, but you can also benefit from them in your daily life... provided you don't use industrial gelatin!

Chicken broth: the best gelatin there is

I don't know if it works for you, but when I have the flu, a good chicken broth and I get healthy again!

This mystery effect could be explained in part by the presence of gelatin from the chicken bones that have been simmered for a long time with the vegetables.

This leads me straight to the recipe I promised you, which is nothing less than a therapeutic broth rich in gelatin.
This is commonly called"Bone Broth".

To prepare it, use :

• bones of your choice (beef, mutton, poultry or even fish bones) and add vegetables and spices according to your taste.
  - The richer your broth is in gelatin, the more beneficial it will be.
  - Don't skimp on the quantity of bones.
  - You can buy them at the butcher's or simply collect the ones left over after eating a roast chicken or osso bucco
  
  
• You will then need three liters of water to which you will add 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar and a pinch of salt.
  
  
• Stir in your bones (and any spices and vegetables) and simmer over low heat for a good three hours, covered.
  
  
• At the end of the cooking time, strain the broth.
  
  
• You can eat it hot or put it in the fridge and you will notice, in this case, that in contact with the cold it will take the texture of a jelly.

Here is your homemade gelatin!

You have at your disposal a fortifier of choice that will keep 3 to 4 days in a cool place.
Think about it in case of a nasty flu this winter!