Go to the Recipe: Gummy “Bears”
Fun facts: Apparently the German Haribo strawberry flavor is the color of the American raspberry flavor, the German raspberry flavor is an even darker red, and there's an additional German green apple flavor that the American green strawberry is probably trying to replace.
http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2012/06/taste-test-haribo-gummy-bears-german-vs-american-turkish.html
What would you consider to be the best vegetarian substitution for gelatin that gives approximately the right texture in this recipe?
The green ones are the BEST
Are there any substitutes for the sugar alcohol? Fermentation in the small intestine can lead to potential bloating in higher concentrations, would like to avoid if possible.
If you do not want to use gelatin, you can use a modified potato starch. However, you will need to note that the texture will not be completely the same. As for the starch formulation, you remove the gelatin and put the starch in at doubled the amount. Keep the same levels of water yet slightly decreasing your sugar and corn syrup amounts. Just as the gelatin is being melted within the vacuum package bag as the first step, the potato starch must be heated or cooked first before adding in the other ingredients. This will allow the starch to swell and take in the right amount of water to provide the right texture. This can be done by adding the starch to the water, heating in a pot for about 10 minutes at 190F and constantly stirring. Make sure that the starch has fully cooked and this will be apparent once it is clear and will thicken. If you do not cook the starch completely, the gummies after it is set into the corn starch molds, left over night, and then removed, it will melt into each other into one blob. You will have to play around with these formulations but it is best to stay with the amount of water and potato starch I have mentioned and to remove it from the sugar and glucose syrup in order to bring it up to your total amount. The total amount of the whole recipe is 729.5g. ok hope this helps. let me know if anyone does need help!
But where does one find a bear-shaped mold?
Originally the bear (and other) shaped molds are made entirely out of starch. And stamps with the desired shape are pushed into the starch-bed ? (Stärkebett in German)(~2-3 cm thick). So you can make your own, by punching store bough gummibears into the starch ;-) (maybe spike them on a toothpick or something).
Any substitute for Sorbitol? Assuming you live in a "sub-developed country" and seems impossible to find it!
IM curious about this too, Sorbitol does weird things to me
I have successfully made negative moulds for a number of things out of 2 part silicone putty. Allow to cure.
The positive if required to stamp into the starch: fill the silicone mould with Fimo or sculpy clay and bake as per the direction. Before baking you could insert a stainless wire. The mould can be reused and is food safe.
Be sure to be careful the mould does not distort while filling it with clay. I have not tried using the same material such as silicon party for the positive and negative mould
where do you suggest we get the essential oils? do we have to get a certain brand or type?
Is it possible to use agar agar to make the recipe veg. ?
Hey Adam, Our source of choice is: http://www.aftelier.com/chefs-essences/
Is the sorbitol used in this recipe liquid or powder? Is this the correct ingredient used? http://www.modernistpantry.com/sorbitol-powder.html
We use liquid sorbitol. You can use the powder if that is all you can find. You can also omit the sorbitol but the texture will be slightly less bouncy and more sweet.
I believe there is a step missing in this recipe about when to add the gelatin to mix. My friend and I looked at the wine gums recipe for reference and added the gelatin to the melted sugar base (between steps 2 and 3 here). Our pink grapefruit gummies were hugely successful! Thanks for the recipe!
I can only seem to find sheet gelatin that is 230 Bloom strength. That is the Platinum color. Is it fine to use that instead of using a Beef Based 250 Gelatin Powder?
How does powder sorbitol compare to liquid sorbitol in weight? I am struggling to find the liquid sorbitol like IntheCards and Daniel Munoz
can this one be cut like the others? I dont have a small silicon mould
I tried making these today. I found it insanely difficult, but perhaps because it was my first foray into candy. It started setting well before I was able to get everything into the mold, and cleanup was a serious pain. Everything stuck to everything else. I used Modernist Pantry's Culinary Crystals, which required a *great* deal less of essential oil for the flavour to come through (like, 10%). I ended up with a big gelatinous glob that I had to pour out of my sauce funnel onto a silpat because it was too hard to come out of the bottom into my mold. I'll try again with a bit better idea of what's required, but this is not for the faint-of-heart. Also, as someone below mentioned, you completely left out the step of mixing the gelatin with the sugar base. Can I suggest that when you post a recipe, you make someone who hasn't ever made it before test it? [Or, perhaps, I just did] That said, it tastes completely like Haribo, so there's that.
This is so much fun! Made my first batch last night and made a few flubs but determined to master it. My biggest problem was dissolving the sugar. I ended up stirring too hard to break it up and then had bubbles galore. Next batch will be clearer. I'll use finer sugar and be much more gentle. Too sticky right now as well. Do they become less tacky as they set? They're sticky enough that they form a lump in a bag. I'd like to lick that problem in batch 3.
I loved this recipe. I made a little change though which I thought I would share.
Instead of water to dissolve the gelatin I used no sugar added mixed berry juice I had reduced by not
quite 30%. I skipped the essential oil, but otherwise followed the recipe.
The addition of the citric acid made them a pleasant "tangy" so if it sweeter you are looking for
just reduce it. (the juice i used had some in it already)
Have fun....L
Im willing to bet that the mouthfeel and residue are much different as well.
Can I use knox gelatin for this recipe as its 250 bloom?
Anyone condemn the use of artificial flavourings in these for any particular reasons?
Followed this recipe to a T, ended up with gritty gummys. The taste and texture are excellent though. Should i have heated the sugar/gelatin longer? 149 F doesn't seem warm enough to get the sugar and citric acid crystals to dissolve.
i had the exact same problem. 149f is not high enough to form a 'supersaturated syrup' and so you end up with undissolved sugar crystals in your product. i agree that the springy texture is good though. try heating your syrup to 241f to make the syrup then allow to cool to 158f before adding the gelatin.the problem with this is that it throws your water/sugar ratio off a bit. im going to do some experimenting. good look. ps. it seem like no one posts on here anymore which is a shame and im not quite sure why this site would post a recipe which in my opinion simply doesnt work....
I have just made these again . I had the same problem with the gums being gritty. This time i heated to 75°C. They are definitely not gritty now and i prefer them. It is a shame that old recipes dont seem to get any updates on comments by our teachers.
I switched to using extra-fine sugar in addition to warming the sugar a little higher, and this solved the grittiness issue. Also, I subbed 7 grams of citric acid for tartaric acid (half batch) and I found the gummies too sour. Ive cut back on the acid (half batch) to 4-5 grams total using varying combinations of tartaric, fumaric, and citric acid. For the sour gummy effect, roll these with some pressure in a mixture of fumaric acid and sugar (approx 1 part fumaric to 6 parts sugar for the mixture, adjust to taste). Really squeeze it into the finished gummies, it will become embeded in the candy. If you coat them with citric acid on the outside, they will "weep" and get all sticky. Fumaric acid won't pull water out of the air (or the candy) and keeps the gummies from sticking together in storage.
This recipe is excellent, the gummy texture is spot on, and they last at least a couple weeks in a sealed container. These are as good as store bought!
I've been using Knox with great success.
As i read it there is no water in the sugar/corn syrup mix, correct? A little water in the syrup would help the sugar dissolve but would also throw off your sugar/water ratio.
No, and they work really well!
I followed this recipe and obtained flavoursome but gritty gummies. I used silicone moulds but the texture of the gummies was very sticky and although I used corn starch, the gummies got too stuck to the moulds. When I pulled them out they broke apart. The consistency is not right. Has anyone had the same problem? Any suggestions?
I dont condemn it, I just dont use them personally.
So is it possible to substitute the glucose syrup for corn syrup?
Question the only 250 bloom gelatin I can find is powder will that work at same weight?
I don't even have half of the ingredients.
What are your thoughts on using corn starch moulds instead of silicone?
After reading through this recipe and coments , I made a few minor adjustments. 1 I used lemon juice instead of citric acid. Less acidic in flavor but still is used as a perservative. 2 I made 1/4 batches. 3 I didn't use sorbitol powder due to lack of finding any localy. Instead I used another low sweetner. 4. I used Knox brand gelatine instead of bloom. 5 I made my own molds. Overall with my adjustments it came out perfect.
Sorbital if over consumed is a laxative. Use another low calorie sweetner
Use a low calorie sweetner!
Exactly what I did. I also used Lego toys for other great shapes.
Thanks Craig!
The confectionary funnel/sauce gun to which you have linked has a poor rating on Amazon. Do you still suggest this particular sauce gun or can you recommend another one in the same price range?
I used the gummy recipe and had great success! However, I would like to know how to give the gummies a wax coating for a shiny finish. Will coating them with wax make them last longer? Also, would like to know more about making sour gummy outer coating with a fumaric acid sugar mix. Does malic acid work or will it cause oozing?
this one is actually cheaper, and seems to have a higher rating, although, I'm somewhat skeptical about the reviews left at the one you seem to take issue with.
are you using Essential Oils as in plant essential oils or are you using CANDY FLAVOR oils? Having worked with 100%Essential Oils for over 25 years, there is a significant difference and one that should be respected as one is not the other. often flavor oils and fragrance oils have been sold with something making them SEEM like essential oils and those looking for essential oils for medicinal or aromatherapy purposes are at best tricked at worse, injured. for that reason, I point out the difference.
Hi ChefStep,
How can we make the same Gummy Bears with vegetarian ingredient (replacing Gelatin with agar or some other vegetarian substitute)? Based on the vegetarian ingredient, how other ingredients ratio will change?
Thanks.
Did you ever figure this out? I'm just playing around with agar nothing major.
I think it depends on the texture you are looking for and it maybe difficult to get it exact with agar/agarose. That said you can use as low as ~0.75% and probably up to 4% agar. Lower percentages will set "looser" and higher percentages (i.e >3%) start to form bubbles and hockey puck consistency. Bubbles can be removed by degassing or using a piece of masking tape to act as a sticky dam that the bubbles on top can stick to while the molten sneaks out a hole in the bottom.
For the recipe. and this is a total guess. Try to start with 2 % agar by using 12 g of agar and 198g water. Heat to boiling and swirl to mix and dissolve agar. Hold at ~50 deg c water bath (another use for the Joule?) and then mix in the sugar mix. Cool to maybe a little lower to pour but should be similar. I don't know how the sugar concentration will affect the agar polysaccharide polymerization (nerd speak for the sugar may change how the agar solidifies).
Good luck!
That might not be the solution--sorbitol is used here for it's textural qualities, not so much as a sweetener.
