I find it fascinating that we can create a gel from an animal product (gelatin) but we can also replicate it with a plant product such as pectin. The structure of the gel is not only important for the structure, but it is essential to prevent the product from deforming, adding flavor, increasing stability, consistency, etc. It's really interesting to know that we can make such products easily. After doing some research I found three products; Shirataki (tofu) noodles, instant puddings and chewy sweets all have gel structures and are quite different from each other. All products are mixed gels, meaning they contain more than one gelling agent. I want to look at the gelling process and how it is illustrated by all three. Interestingly, all three are quite different from each other, yet they are called gels. I will explore this idea more. All three are considered mixed gels. The structure of the gel is not only important for the structure, it is essential for preventing the product from deforming, adding flavor, increasing stability, consistency, etc. a metastable state." (Renard2006) I will examine the textures of all three foods and demonstrate how gels affect them. I am particularly interested in gummy sweets and their gel structures. Characterization of gels can be performed using rheological measurements. They look so complicated but are actually quite simple. I have always been fascinated by sweets and how they can have the structure and texture that they do. Gels are very intriguing and it is fascinating to know that a multitude of products exist and can be used. The...... half of the paper... the gelling agents and under conditions such as temperature, presence of ions, pH and concentration of the gelling agents, etc. Characterization of gels can be performed using rheological measurements. Interestingly, all three are quite different from each other, yet they are called gels. I looked at the textures of all three foods and demonstrated how the gels affect them. My interest is in gummy sweets and their gel structures, they made me want to look at other similar products. I have always been fascinated by sweets and how they can have the structure and texture that they do. After researching gel formation, I came to the conclusion that gels are versatile entities in the food industry, there is so much that can be done with them. It's all these things that make learning about gels interesting for me.