2703: Gelatin and Gelato May 15, 2024

Words like gluten, gelatin, glutamate, and even gelato are all related, beyond just having a vague food relation, but it may not be obvious why. In the case of ‘gluten’ and ‘gelatin’, which do not look so alike, this from the Latin ‘gluten’ meaning ‘glue’, though ‘gelatin’ is older in English, passing through many other languages along the way, but both become very sticky and springy in water and then harden into a shape, likely coming from the same source as ‘clay’ etymologically. This quality of sticking did not only extend to things that are sticky to the touch, but that come to stick together in some other way when they harden. ‘Gelato’ is called such since ‘gelata’ in Latin means ‘frost’, when water begins to bind, or even ‘glass’, made from sand coming together.