Editing Isinglass (section)

== Foods and drinks ==
[[file:Topping up the barrel with finings.jpg|thumb|Adding finings to a [[cask]] of beer]]

Before the inexpensive production of [[gelatin]] and other competing products, isinglass was used in confectionery and desserts such as fruit jelly and ''[[blancmange]]''.

Isinglass [[finings]] are widely used as a processing aid in the British brewing industry to accelerate the fining, or clarification, of beer. It is used particularly in the production of cask-conditioned beers, although many [[cask ale]]s are available which are not fined using isinglass. The finings [[flocculation|flocculate]] the live [[yeast]] in the beer into a jelly-like mass, which settles to the bottom of the cask. Left undisturbed, beer will clear naturally; the use of isinglass finings accelerates the process. Isinglass is sometimes used with an auxiliary fining, which further accelerates the process of sedimentation.

Non-cask beers that are destined for [[keg]]s, [[Beverage can|can]]s, or [[bottle]]s are often [[pasteurization|pasteurised]] and [[filtration|filtered]]. The yeast in these beers tends to settle to the bottom of the storage tank naturally, so the sediment from these beers can often be filtered without using isinglass.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} However, some breweries still use isinglass finings for non-cask beers, especially when attempting to repair bad batches.

Many [[vegetarian]]s<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.barnivore.com/ |title=Is your booze vegan? |publisher=barnivore.com |access-date=21 December 2012 }}</ref> consider beers that are processed with these finings (such as most [[Cask ale|cask-conditioned ales]] in the UK<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jackson |first=Michael |date=1994-07-22 |title=Food and Drink: Gingering up the real ale range: Michael Jackson enjoys the unusual flavours of a brewery deep in the Forest of Dean |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/food-and-drink-gingering-up-the-real-ale-range-michael-jackson-enjoys-the-unusual-flavours-of-a-brewery-deep-in-the-forest-of-dean-1415784.html}}</ref>) to be unsuitable for [[Vegetarianism|vegetarian diet]]s (although acceptable for [[pescetarian]]s).<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-09-15 |title=The fishy ingredient in beer that bothers vegetarians |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37350233 |access-date=2024-12-27 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> According to global data in 2018, along with low-calorie beer and gluten-free beer, beers that are acceptable for strict vegetarians are expected to grow in demand in the coming years. The demand increase is attributed to [[millennials|millennial]] consumers, and some companies have introduced vegetarian friendly options or done away with isinglass use.<ref>{{cite web |author=Rachel Arthur |url= https://www.beveragedaily.com/Article/2018/05/09/Low-calorie-vegan-and-gluten-free-beers-win-favor-with-millennial-consumers |title=Low calorie, vegan and gluten-free beers win favor with millennial consumers |date=9 May 2018 |website=Beverage daily.com}}</ref> A beer-fining agent that is suitable for vegetarians is [[Chondrus crispus|Irish moss]], a type of [[red algae]] containing the polymer chemical [[carrageenan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/guinness---may-contain-fish-476494 |title=Guinness - 'May Contain Fish' |date=21 May 2007 |author=Kate Jackson, Sara Wallis |work=Daily Mirror |access-date=21 December 2012 }}</ref> However, carrageenan-based products (used in both the boiling process and after [[fermentation (beer)|fermentation]]) primarily reduce hazes caused by [[protein]]s, but isinglass is used at the end of the brewing process, after fermentation, to remove [[yeast]]. Since the two fining agents act differently (on different haze-forming particles), they are not interchangeable, and some beers use both.

Isinglass finings are also used in the production of [[kosher wine]]s, although for reasons of [[kashrut]], they are not derived from the [[Beluga (sturgeon)|beluga sturgeon]], because this fish is not kosher.<ref name="Noda" /> Whether the use of a nonkosher isinglass renders a beverage nonkosher is a matter of debate in Jewish law. Rabbi [[Yehezkel Landau]], in ''Noda B'Yehuda'', first edition, Yore Deah 26, for example, permits such beverages.<ref name="Noda">{{cite web |url=https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=1497&pgnum=73 |script-title=he:נודע ביהודה מהדורה קמא, יורה דעה, כ"ו |publisher=The Society for Preservation of Hebrew Books |language=he |access-date=21 December 2012 }}</ref> This is the position followed by many kashrut-observant Jews today.{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}

The similar-sounding names has resulted in confusion between isinglass and [[waterglass]], especially as both have been used to preserve eggs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.1900s.org.uk/1940s50s-preserving-eggs-isinglass.htm |title=How isinglass was used to preserve eggs. |access-date=9 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.1900s.org.uk/1940s50s-preserving-eggs.htm |title=How waterglass was used to preserve eggs |access-date=9 May 2021}}</ref> A solution of isinglass was applied to eggs and allowed to dry, sealing their pores. Waterglass is sodium silicate. Eggs were submerged in solutions of waterglass, and a gel of silicic acid formed, also sealing the pores of the eggshell.