# Gelatin or cornstarch for glaze?



## kazeya (Jan 11, 2009)

hi all! ok im in a bit of confusion here, I was looking for some recipes for glazes as my strawberry glaze din set the other day. However, i noticed most if not all the recipes of strawberry glaze online uses cornstarch instead of gelatin for it to set. Doesn't gelatin play the role in setting the glaze? 

The thing that confuses me now is that the recipe for apricot glaze uses gelatin LOL.

Is the apricot glaze used for brushing on pastries instead of pouring on the top of cakes to set it? And that the cornstarch in the strawberry glaze recipes are meant to create a semi-transperant layer ( the kind of layer im looking for ) on top of pastries and such which binds the the pastry and gives it a neat gloss?

Need some info on this  cheers ^^


----------



## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

Trade name Apricoat is a canned jell glaze manufactured by Mazur that is used on many products but in most cases is not used as a binder. Starch on the other hand is a binder which in most cases is used to thicken the fruit tart mixture then it is glazed.
Starch will give the total mix a transparent type glaze also, but will thicken.


----------



## shechef (Jan 2, 2010)

As Ed suggested, cornstarch makes a better glaze, BUT it really depends on how long you intend to keep the final product as cornstarch draws moisture from the fridge causing it to break down faster than gelatin, which only tends to get dryer over time.

If your gelatin did not set, you probably overheated it when preparing it. Gelatin needs gentle and short time heat. You cannot boil it for extended periods of time. Cornstarch, on the other hand, thickens the more you cook it and it's thickening properties are not destroyed with extended cooking, even when boiling.


----------



## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

Depending on the fruit to be thickened .Cornstarch will break down in a lot of acid as will arrowroot. Coimercially you are better of with a modified tapioca or other type starch.


----------



## kazeya (Jan 11, 2009)

hmm thanks for the replies!  shedded some light on me^^ well maybe it could be the gelatin..i usually tend to leave it on top of boiling water LOL! guess ill let it slowly melt under low heat.

hmm ill give the cornstarch recipe a try and see what happens! ^^ yea i heard about cornstarch breaking down in most acidic ingredients..i read on a website where incase during the use of acidic ingredients, place the acidic items last after all the other cooking is done. is this true?


----------



## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

To a point,, but there are times you can't like when making a sweet and sour sauce, vinegar and sugar are reduced first then thickened with starch. You would get totally different flavors.:chef:


----------



## kazeya (Jan 11, 2009)

LOL! yea true to that ! i mean when it comes to pastry glazes lol.
omg i cant imagine having a vinegar and sugar reduction LOL!


----------

