There’s always room for Jell-O.

The 25-pound bucket of VYSE Professional Grade Ballistic Gelatin and now it’s time to make dessert. Vyse Ballistics Gelatin is 250A porcine (pork) organic Gelatin specified by the FBI for use in testing terminal performance of ammunition. It can be purchased from Custom Collagen. Other supplies include a paint mixer for a cordless drill, a five-gallon bucket, and a food thermometer. The FBI method calls for 2 pounds of gelatin and 18 pounds of water heated to 140 degrees. 18 pounds of water equals 2.16 gallons so to simplify the process I will use a 1-gallon picture marked off at the 9 pounds. I planned to make two blocks to start with. I’m using the same 6X6X16 molds I now use for the clear gel.

Tape at the bottom covering the hole used to blow the block out

Heating 5 gallons of water on a burner until the temperature of 125 degrees was achieved. Most sources I have read tend to think a temperature range of 120 to 130 is best. All agree that it’s important not to overheat the mixture. After heating, I transfer the correct amount of water, about four gallons, into the five-gallon bucket. Start turning the water fast enough to mix the gel but not so much at to introduce air bubbles in the mix. As I’m turning I slowly add the gel mix to the hot water. It took me about 20 minutes. There was a time or two when I added the gel powder too fast and resulted in a little clumping.

The molds were prepared by spraying non-stick cooking spray prior to pouring the mixture into them. I poured half of the mixture into each mold and was surprised by the amount of foam it created. I thought I must have done something wrong. Most of the foam went into the first mold and the second one had much less. After four hours the amount of foam was greatly reduced and I was encouraged to see that the gel appeared clear.