Collagen vs Gelatin: what is the difference?

How they differ

Gelatin is collagen that has been cooked, and that is the entire relationship. Collagen is the structural protein of skin, tendon and bone, three chains wound into a rigid triple helix that gives tissue its tensile strength. Heat in water unwinds that helix irreversibly, and the loose chains that result are gelatin, which is why simmering a bone broth thickens it as it cools. Collagen supplements are generally hydrolysed further into short peptides, so what is sold as collagen powder is closer to gelatin than to the intact protein. Neither reaches the skin as collagen after being eaten: both are digested into amino acids like any other protein.

Side by side

Common questions

What is the difference between Collagen and Gelatin?

Gelatin is collagen that has been cooked, and that is the entire relationship. Collagen is the structural protein of skin, tendon and bone, three chains wound into a rigid triple helix that gives tissue its tensile strength. Heat in water unwinds that helix irreversibly, and the loose chains that result are gelatin, which is why simmering a bone broth thickens it as it cools.