Is anyone else irritated by the new size Costa leaf gelatine? In the old packet there were 8 sheets totaling 25g. In the new packaging there are 15 leaves totaling the same 25g. So if a recipe asks for 2 sheets of gelatine and gives no measurement what is a person to do?

It is simple enough if it is just a jelly and you can work out how much is needed to set, but last weekend I was making a White Chocolate raspberry and hazlenut torte (Good Food Mag, May issue).The filling included large quantities of cream and white choc, egg whites and gelatine (2 sheets), Old or new? The cream and choc should set anyway to a point. Very confusing!

There is no mention on the packet (that I can see) to double up quantites.


Anyone else had problems with this?

maby there is a universal weight 4 gelatine to water any one know what it is? then the leaf size wouldnt matter u just weigh it.

I'm having the same problem, I can now only find the smaller sheets but the recipes still just give a number of sheets with no mention of size, can't one of these all knowing chefs help us with this?

Can anyone find another brand of leaf gelatine on the market other than the smaller sized Costa, I wonder?

I have e-mailed the company and will see what they have to say. They should return to the standard size, alternatively all food writers will have to stipulate how many grams of leaf gelatine is required to give their intended set and thus texture. My kitchen scales will not weigh below 5g.

Costa have needlessly complicated this issue. Floppy jellys or bouncing mousses all over the country!

It's not just Costa, Tesco own brand and Supercook are the same but the experts who write the recipes don't shop for these things at the supermarkets, and are either unaware or disinterested in the problem. I have tried just doubling up and ended up with an overset jelly glaze

As a chef and food writer. I always make a point of buying my ingredients from my various local supermarkets to ensure the ingredients are available.
The other week I was cooking and testing a Lavender and Lemon Pannacotta and I had to adjust the recipe because of the changing sizes of gelatine leaves. I try to solve the problem by specifying the brand and size of gelatine I am using for that recipe and other chefs should do too.
Another related potential problem is the varying sizes of ramakins, there has been several attempts to standardize the sizes and number them but too few manufacturers follow this practice.

Doesn't this beg the question why did the various companies change the size at all. What was the reasoning behind this decision I wonder?

So food writers will have to give a weight measurement of leaf gelatine now, or specify a brand. Also in following a recipe from a cookery book, the cook will have to check whether the book was written pre or post size change. What twit thought this one up? It would have been better left as it was.

I understand the reason for the revised size was to give more control over amounts! Somebody did not think this through as the above comments illustrate.

As to the problem. As an example where 2 sheets are specified and assuming this is not a new recipe I would apply the following:

25 div by 8 = 3.125 x 2 = 6.25g
25 div by 15 = 1.666 x 3.75 = 6.25g

I 'Ghost Write' recipes from time to time and have just e-mailed my most recent client to ask what he suggests. If I get a sensible reply I will post it.

David

Hi David

Thanks for your input and I look forward to hearing the sensible reply.

In the May issue 2008 Good Food, they give some general guidance on the use of gelatine. In this they state that 1 leaf of gelatine is the equivalent of 1 tsp gelatine and that you need 4 leaves or 4tsp to set 570ml. This is using the OLD size leaf gelatine, which appears to be no longer used by Costa, Tesco or Supercook.

In this instance, the mousse to be set was 400g white choc, 568 ml double cream, 3 egg whites and 450g fresh raspberries and 2 Sheets leaf gelatine. As the cream and choc would firm up when cooled, the amount of gelatine was not critical in this case, but using only half the advised amount, 2 new sized leaves instead of 2 oldsheets could be a disaster in many, if not most other recipes.

I played safe and used 3 new size sheets and it was fine.

Hi Posset

All I got back was 'use your common sense, it is not rocket science'!

Glad to see you have a surfeit of the same!

I think it is up to everyone to experiment and find their own solution. I for one will add a note to my own book. Maybe the publisher will have a view on how to approach this issue, I will ask.

Happy setting.

David