It's pretty easy to guess what most of your food is made of. The meat in your hamburger probably came from a cow, the bun was made from grain, the ketchup from tomatoes, and so on. There is one kind of food, however, that might have you guessing animal, vegetable or mineral for the whole meal. But no more, since we'll learn about Jello on today's Moment of Science.
要猜出大多數食物是由什么做成的十分簡單。漢堡里的肉可能來自于牛，小圓面包可能來自谷物，番茄醬由西紅柿做成，等等。然而有一種食物就不容易猜了，到底它是來自于植物、動物還是礦物質呢？沒關系，學了今日科學時刻關于果膠的知識后，你就不會再感到迷惑了。
Jello is a trademark name for gelatin, a food that people have enjoyed for generations. To answer the question animal, vegetable, or mineral: gelatin is an animal product. It is prepared by soaking the bones, skin, or connective tissue from pigs or cows in a bath of mild hydrochloric acid solution. After this, the animal products are heated in distilled water for many hours, and finally boiled. The fluid that collects from this process is drawn off.
果膠是明膠的商業用名，是一種幾代人都享用過的食物。從植物、動物或者礦物質中選擇一個來回答這個問題的話，那就是動物。果膠的制作方法是，用輕度的鹽酸溶液浸泡牛或者豬的骨頭，皮肉或者結締組織；之后用蒸餾水加熱幾個小時直至沸騰；在這個過程中收集流出來的液體。
What's left is dried, and ground into a fine, pale yellow powder. This is unflavored gelatin, the basis of all gelatin salads, desserts, and drinks. Gelatin is valuable as a food because it is pure protein and it is easy to digest. A gelatin made from vegetable protein, called agar-agar, is made for vegetarians. When powdered gelatin is stirred into hot water and then chilled, it forms the jiggly, gelled product that we are most familiar with. This gelled product is not strictly a solid or a liquid.
把最后剩下的部分晾干，磨成細小，微黃的粉末。這粉末就是無味的明膠，所有明膠色拉，甜點和飲料的原材料。明膠與天然食物的營養價值相同，因為它是由純蛋白質組成，并且很好消化。用植物做成的明膠叫做瓊脂。瓊脂是為素食主義者準備的。當把粉末狀明膠混合開水攪拌，然后冷卻，就會形成我們非常熟悉的不穩定的、稠化的食品。嚴格來講，這種食物既不是固體也不是液體。
Technically it's a colloid: a liquid suspended in a solid framework. As the hot mixture cools off, the long strands of animal protein lock together into a solid framework, trapping tiny droplets of liquid water in the process. It's these droplets of water, trapped in a mesh of animal protein, that hold all the coloring and flavoring in your favorite gelatin dessert.
學術上來說它是膠體：一種液體懸浮在另一種固體中。當熱的混合物冷卻后，長長的動物蛋白鏈就會凝聚成一塊固體，并在凝聚過程中吸附微小的液態水滴。正是這些水滴鎖住了所有的顏色和味道，所以你才能吃上色香味俱全的果膠甜點
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