How to Make Gummy Bears:The Complete Buying Guide in 2024

1.What are gummy bears?

Eating gummy bears is perfectly satisfying with delicious taste, chewy and rubbery texture.
The gummy bears have sophisticated formulations such as gelatin, pectin, carrageenan, coloring, sweeteners, flavors, modified starch, etc.
Due to its nature, you can mold them in thousands of shapes that ultimately make the most versatile confectionary product ever. The shape of normal gummy bears is estimated up to 2 cm long.

2.HARIBO Gummy Bears- How does it originate?

Gummy bears are sweet rubbery-textured candies. The history of gummy bear candies originated in 1922 from a small kitchen. A German candy maker ‘Hans Riegel’ was the first who prepared this small fruity candy was only 27 years old when he became an expert confectioner.
Previously in 1920, he launches his own sweets production which was nothing but a snack of sugar using a marble slab, stool, pot of copper, and a pan.

His wife was the first employee of his company in 1921.

Hans Riegel establishes HARIBO’s success when he introduces the DANCING BEAR- Gummy Bear Show that becomes the world-famous HARIBO GOLFBEAR.

With time popularity in gummies urges the first investment in transport technology which was acquired with the advertising sign of ‘HARIBO’. This car was used to transport the gummy bear to customers.

With time the new advancements in shapes, colors, flavor, and advertisements (included flying of the skies) were presented.

Following the years of success, today HARIBO is celebrating its 100 years of business that brought unlimited delicious, sweet confectionery goods.

3.What are gummy bears made of?

Gummies bears recipe is optimized by trained food technologists and well-acknowledged chemists. Using proper mixing techniques enabled them to develop a particular characteristic of gummies recipes such as flexible rubbery texture, sweet flavor, easy to mold, and attractive appearance.
You might have known the basic gummy bear recipe. The manufacturing techniques in gummy recipes have been kept altering throughout the years, but their prime ingredients remain the same.
Today we’ll let you know the genuine composition of gummy bears.

1.Gelatin
Gelatin is a prime ingredient required for making gummy bears obtained from raw collagen. Gelatin is composed of eighteen amino acids that form a gel-like consistency if mix properly with the correct ratio of ingredients.
This accurate mixing of gelatin leads to a chewy-textured gummy bear.

Gelatin

2.Sugar- Corn Starch & Dextrose
When you put gummy bears in your mouth, a unique sweetness steadily enhances the taste buds and elevates your mood instantly.
Indeed, it is achieved by a combination of sugars that is extremely versatile and well-tolerated.

Cornstarch

For instance, dextrose and a thick slurry of corn syrup (traditionally sweetening agent preferred for sweet foods). The crystal of sugar is obtained from sugar cane by hydrolysis that transforms corn-starch into dextrose and a corn- syrup. This long chain of carbohydrates tangles up and protects the sugar molecules to crystalize or separating in the gummy mixture, hence provide a jell-like translucent appearance.

3. Pectin
Yes, it is a vegan substance! Pectin is organic corn starch.
Pectin is best known for thickening up gummy bears. It is also termed a heteropolysaccharide. As pectin is a naturally occurring substance that gives structure to the product. That is the reason it is frequently used in making jams, jellies, and gummy candies to firm up and hold the composition.
If you are purely diet conscious and prefer gelatin-free gummy bears, then pectin is the best option for you.

How?
You’ll get to know later in this blog.

4. Carrageenan
Due to its solidification, high solubility, and alkaline properties, it is preferred as a suitable thickening, emulsifying, and suspending agent in the making of gummy candies. It is added in gummy candies to improve jell like consistency.
Gummy candies made by carrageenan accompanied with a good taste, highly cleaned and transparent appearance, cost-effective and bright color.
Carrageenan is obtained from red algae or seaweed which is used as a therapeutic agent for various health ailments such as respiratory, inflammatory, or digestive disorders.

5. Beeswax
Beeswax has been in use in ancient times, it coats the HARIBO gummy candies at the end of the manufacturing process. Beeswax offers a shiny, glossy appearance to gummy candies and prevents them from stickiness in the gummy pouches/bags.

6. Carnauba Wax
Brazilian palm tree secretes the carnauba wax from their leaves. The carnauba wax offers a shiny appearance to gummy candies and is utilized as a glazing agent.

7. Citric Acid
Citric acid is obtained from citrus fruits and juices; it gives tart flavor eatables. It serves as a preservative that ensures you a long shelf life of the gummies.

8. Fractionated Coconut Oil
A fractionated coconut oil is obtained from the distillation process to keep a pure oil. This oil also extends the shelf life of gummy candies as well as stabilizes them.

9. Natural & Artificial Fruity Flavors
Natural as well as artificial fruity or vegan flavors are incorporated into gummy candies to enhance their flavoring properties. For instance, strawberries, lemon, pineapple, orange, and raspberry.

10. Glucose Syrups
Glucose syrup is another name for corn syrup. It offers a translucent look to gummies.

11.Artificial Color
To give fruity color, Federal food, drug & cosmetic or FD&C yellow #5, and blue #1 approved by FDA is used to give the greenish, yellowish, red, and orange color to gummy candies.

12.Sodium Citrate
Sodium citrate ensures the uniformity and purity of gummy candies.

13.Purified Water
Water is a vehicle used to combine all sets of ingredients required for making gummy candies. The regulation of water also assists to maintain the consistency of gummy bear candies.

4.Battle of the gummies- Pectin VS Gelatin- Which one is most suitable?

Gummies are the best warm-weather sweet treats because they tend to tolerate heat.

• Let's explore the characteristic of gelatin and pectin that makes gummies so perfect.
• Gelatin gummies are extremely elastic and chewy. Whereas pectin gummies are soft and more delicate to bite.
• Gelatin protein is obtained from connective tissues of mammalian sources and is considered a pure protein. Whereas vegan can satisfy their urges for gummies by consuming pectin gummies. Pectin is a polysaccharide obtained from the skin of fruits and vegetables. That’s why it is suitable for vegans.
• Gelatin is thermo-reversible, which means under very temperature gummies are melts down and becomes liquid. So, after cooling it down it re-gels. Pectin is the opposite; it is not thermo-reversible and doesn’t melt under extreme temperature. Hence it is perfect for a summer treat!
• Gelatins are exceptionally stretchable and have a stronger strength. Whereas, stretching strength of pectin is weak and can’t withstand stretching.

5.How much gelatin to make gummy bears?

Gummies products are always associated with the basic formulation of sweeteners, gelatin, colorants, etc in a specified ratio. Although these proportions can be modified, for instance- European gummies bear tend to be tougher and tend to cleave while chewing, whereas U.S gummies are softer and chewier.
Generally, sugar bear gummies have a 6.5% gelatin content that moves up to 8.0% of gelatin.

6.What are weed gummies?

The wild world of weed edible is extensive that continuously growing day by day. Weed is a slang terminology used for ‘marijuana’. Marijuana is a chemical substance obtained from dried flowers of cannabis. Thus, when you heard about someone who smokes a little weed, it simply means they’re referring to marijuana.

By growing the market, gummies manufacturers introduced weed gummies that just look like your most favourite childhood candies. But their effects are comparatively much different from normal gummies. So, it is extremely important to not over-indulge weed edible gummies because it may cause overdose and cause nausea, headache, and uneasy feelings.

7.What additional ingredients require for making weed gummies?

Making gummy candies require few different routes than conventional candies.

If you’re making gummy or marshmallows, that you will need to cook sugar till it melts then you may incorporate the gelatin.

If you are preparing a chewy caramel for that you will need to replace gelatin with oil or fats for e.g butter.

Here is a catch!

For making infused weed gummies, THC concentrate in oil such as cannabutter, hash oil, etc plays an important role. So, the secret of making weed gummies is based on a process of ‘emulsification’. Too much oil makes candy turn out too wet that makes the process unblendable.

So to achieve a gummy texture you must properly emulsify the cannabis concentrate with other ingredients during cooking. Good weed gummies are manufactured when cannabis is infused in coconut oil…We will tell you the reason!
As you may know, coconut oil acts as a solid form at room temperature. So cannabis-infused coconut works properly to maintain the shape and structure of gummy candies at room temperature.

8.How to makegummy bears?

The production of gummies in the industrial sector is based on large-scale batches. Each batch may consist of many thousands of packaged products. The whole ingredients of each batch are mixed, processed at a time. Approximately, 2-3 technicians are required to successfully complete the manufacturing cycle of one batch excluding packaging which is another entirely separate step.

Generally, manufacturers utilize starch or starch-free molds, however, the equipment used with each type is different. After mixing and processing all required ingredients, the mixture is poured into molds followed by rapid cooling in a chilling tunnel.  After cooling, the gummies are removed from molds and leave for 1-2 days on trays for drying until all of their water content evaporated.

The basic steps of manufacturing gummies are given below.

1.Cooking:

The first essential step is cooking, in which all required ingredients are heated up to the required temperature in the preheated kettle. Care should be taken at this step because the cooking temperature impacts directly on the finished product quality.

The mixture at this point is called slurry. After efficient cooking, a slurry is transferred into the mixing tank. Constant mixing plus warm temperature in the tank keep the slurry in liquid form until the next step.

At this point, to improve the appearance, taste, and stability of gummies, additional ingredients such as flavors, additives, stabilizers (citric acid), and colors may add to the slurry. Citric acid maintains the pH of the slurry. This step completes in 1-2 hours.

2.Depositing and Cooling:

After cooking, a slurry is transferred from storage tank to hopper equipped on depositor via heated channels/pipes. At this point, the appropriate amount of mixture is deposited on the molds. However, before depositing oil is sprinkled on gummy bear mold and they should be chilled.  This treatment keeps the gummies cool and facilitates their removal from the gummy mold.

Subsequently, molds are passed through a chilling tunnel, which immediately cools the slurry and settles it into gummy bear molds efficiently. Lastly, gummies are removed from molds and spread on trays for drying.

Gummy candies depositing line

Gummy Bears Manufacturing- Drying Trays

3.Coating and Quality Control:

The final step is sub-divided into two processes; 1) coating 2) quality control.

The coating is a process that improves flavor, the appearance of gummies and keeps them separate from each other. Additionally, it makes gummies compatible with subsequent packaging. Before packaging, it is critical to evaluate the water content in gummies to increase their shelf life by protecting them from microbial attacks.

Quality control ensures that each step is meeting the standards of good quality manufacturing. The process validates the quality and purity of all ingredients, raw materials, supplies, and equipment used in the process as well as the final product.

Currently, there is a large number of industries that produce gummies, it is fundamental for each of them to maintain good manufacturing practices and meeting consumer demand.

9.How to make gummy bears without gelatin?

You may find gummy products made up of gelatin across various food, health, and personal care items. In pharmaceuticals, gelatin is used as the main ingredient commonly used for gummies products.
Today, demand for vegetarian items is increasing, you may be pondering how plants products can be the best alternative for vegan consumers.
But fortunately, there are several substitutes of gelatin you may incorporate in its place.
Today, we are going to reveal some most commonly used gelatin substitutes with major properties, and adjustments in the manufacturing process that you account for.

The Base Ingredients for Gummies without Gelatin

1.Agar

Agar is plant-derived, odorless, colorless, and tasteless substance. Its consistency is closer to gelatin however, it is relatively more firm with a high melting point around 185F/85οC.

2.Carrageenan

Carrageenan is commonly used as a gelatin substitute and is obtained from seaweed. Irish moss is an alternate name for it. It is less consistent compare to agar and gelatin, hence melts at around 122-158F (50-70οC).

3.Pectin

It is generally obtained from the skin surface of citrus fruits. It is used as a gelling agent in a variety of food products and confectionaries. Unlike gelatin, pectin gives more jelly-like/gumdrop-like viscosity to gummies, therefore, have a much greater melting point around 288-291F (142-144οC).

10.What are the important factors to consider when manufacturing gummies without gelatin?

When manufacturing gummies using gelatin substitutes you must consider certain factors to obtain good outcomes.

1.Ratio
Not every gelatin substitute is suitable in 1:1 formula with other ingredients. However, you may require an adjustment concentration to produce desirable gummies at a particular volume you require.

2.Temperature

Indeed, the temperature is a parameter that is different for different gummy bases. Temperature especially in the cooking phase directly affects the quality of finished products. Hence if you are using a plant-based gelatin substitute in gummies you must adjust the temperature parameter.

3.Process 

The cooking process is mostly the same when using agar or carrageenan, but has some significant differences when using pectin. Generally, the kitchen purchased with a gummy machine should be tailored to the kind of gelling agent that will be used. Other than this, you should follow the same manufacturing and quality control practices that have resulted in successful gelatin-based gummies.

11.How do gummy edibles support prenatal health?

Mothers always need additional vitamins and minerals during their pregnancy.

Vitamins and minerals are the fundamental requirements for healthy fetal development. In this regard, edible gummies infusion may consider as a good solution during pregnancy that is more palatable, can be administered regularly, and is commonly available.

Soft and chewy prenatal gummy bear edibles serve as the best source of multivitamins in the form of a delicious treat. These gummies may support you to facilitate with rich nutrients you need in pregnancy- particularly in the first trimester.

Delicious prenatal gummies are an ideal treat to help you to fight against the battle of undesirable symptoms, for instance, constipation and nausea.

12.Gummy bears are prone to sticky, do you know how to make gummy bears not sticky?

Gummy bears tend to stick together, and you cannot separate them. And we always want our gummies to look beautiful and shiny. There are different ways to prevent gummies from sticking together by incorporating few steps in a gummy recipe.

The first and best hack is to sprinkle corn starch on them and mix the powder thoroughly with gummies. It will prevent them from sticking together.  In industries, gummy bears are cast in molds made of pressed corn starch which keeps them separate.

Secondly, you can use grapeseed oil for making gummy bears shiny. First spray casting tray with the grapeseed oil then you will get sparkling and pleasant gummy bears. This hack also prevents the sticking of gummy bears.

13.What are the important points you should consider before ingesting gummy food?

We all consider gummy bears a healthy snack as they are low in fats and calories, but this is not the case. When you are munching on a bulk quantity of yummy gummy bears, you are consuming a huge amount of sugar with negligible quantities of essential minerals and vitamins. Gummy bears are packed with sugar but do not have any nutritional value. Before having your fill of these tasty and chewy gummy bears, let’s learn few nutritional facts about gummy bears.

Stockpile of Sugar

These chewy candies are packed with sugar, a single serving of sugar bear gummies having 17 to 18 gummies contains about 22 grams of sugar. This makes about 5.5 teaspoons of sugar which is a lot. The Daily recommended intake of sugar is 6 teaspoons for women and 9 teaspoons for men. Consuming huge quantities of sugar can lead to obesity, inflammation, and heart disease.

Little to no Proteins

Gummy bears have a small number of proteins. A single serving of gummies includes about 2-3 grams of proteins which is about 2-4% of the daily recommended diet. Properly consuming protein between 46-56 grams is necessary for efficient body functions.  Eating a lot of gummy bears daily is not the way to ensure that our body has its fill of daily recommended proteins.

No Vitamins and Minerals

While gummy bears are best for our sugar craving, these do not provide us with essential vitamins like vitamin B and C or important minerals such as calcium and iron. These candies have calories of about 110 to 140 per one serving. If we eat these gooey candies in huge quantities, then our recommended calorie intake is fulfilled by them. So due to this, we do not have enough daily calories for proper food and miss having essential minerals and vitamins.

Gummy Bears and Teeth

Gummy bears are so delicious, they make a yummy snack and satisfy our sugar craving but sadly they are not good before our teeth. These yummy and mouth-watering snacks can create cavities. Gummy bears stick to our teeth are also good food for bacteria in our mouth. These bacteria break sugar in gummy bears and produce acid that deteriorates the outer layer of our teeth. The outer layer of enamel protects our teeth from feelings of hot and cold. The damage to enamel can make teeth vulnerable to sensations of being too hot and cold and cause wear and tear of teeth.

Therefore, you must consider the optimum consumption of gummy bears without ignoring teeth’ health.

14.Does gummy bear always taste sweet? Can you find sugar-free gummies?

If you are trying to lose bodyweight or are conscious of your calorie intake but still want to have a bite of the yummy gooey gummy bear then sugar-free and low calories gummies are available for you in the market. These gummies are good for health as

They are made of natural fruit juices

These are made up of maltitol (sugar substitute). Maltitol is slowly absorbed from the blood and does not have a huge effect on blood sugar levels.

• These contain low-calorie sweetener
• They contain a small number of artificial ingredients
• These are also gluten-free
• Are suitable for people on the keto diet
• These contain 60-90 calories per serving depending upon the brand of a gummy bear.
• These are diabetics friendly candies

These gummies while delicious should not be consumed in excessive quantities as they are formed by maltitol, an ingredient that has a laxative effect. When these sugar-free snacks are munched in excessive quantities, this causes flatulence and abdominal pain.

15.How to make gummy bears with jello?

Gummy bear with Jell-o or Jell-O is a fun-loving adult beverage shot that gives you a delicious, tasty flavor of jell and gummy bears as a mouthwatering treat that you love.

Making gummy bears with jello is extremely easy.

It is a combination of Vodka, purified water, gummy bears, and a box of jello.

Preparing a gummy bear with jello required few steps:

• Add jello in purified boiling water with gentle stirring.
• Pour Vodka.
• Fill gummy bears in a condiment cup.
• It's time to pour jello.
• Cooldown the ingredients until jello become solidifies.

16.How to make gummy bear earrings?

Making gummy bear earrings is a unique, fun, and tasty craft for gummy bears lovers. Gummy bear earrings are a kind of trendy jewelry that will enhance your look with different styles and make you feel good. You can make your own customized gummy bear earrings or may grab ready-to-wear available in the market.
We will tell you how you can make your gummy bear earrings!

Step #1 Take Gummy Bears Pack & Other Requirements

Take gummy bears’ pack, glitter colors, or nail polish.

 

Step #2 Coating

You may coat on gummies up to your choice.

Step #3 Drying

Stick the headpin, press the jewel at the back of gummies and hang them for drying and that’s it!

17.How to make gummy edibles?

As mentioned above, emulsification is the science behind making gummy edibles because cannabis oil itself won't bind with water until you apply emulsification steps for its preparation. An emulsifier such as soy or sunflower lecithin has solved this problem that allows the whole mix to combine evenly in amazing gummy consistency.

But do you know how to make edible gummies?

For making gummy edible you need

• cannabis-infused coconut oil
• purified water
• gelatin
• sunflower or soy lecithin

Edible gummy bears 

For making you need to warm these ingredients such as water and cannabis-infused coconut oil and emulsifier such as sunflower or soy lecithin in a container. Always remember! temperature maintenance is of prime importance whenever you prepare an emulsifying solution.

Thus, when these ingredients are evenly dissolved, add gelatin and make sure the mixture is constantly stirring. Now transfer the mixture into their assigned gummy bear molds and allow to cool in the freezer for twenty to twenty-five minutes.

18How to make gummy bear shots?

Gummy bear shots are a summertime party drink that you enjoy at any party or picnic. Making of gummy bear shot is easy but it does require few days for infusion with alcohol.
It does require few ingredients such as gummy candies of your choice, vodka, and a container.

Fill the container with gummies about half full as gummy bear candies swell up to three times during infusion.

Pour vodka and shake the container to settle the gummies.

Fill the container just above the bears and submerged with small extra to spare.

Seal the container and cool it under cold temperature.

Allow the mixture to refrigerate for few days until gummies absorb the alcohol (approximately 4 days).

Gummy bear before (left) and after (right) treating with vodka

19.What are the best practices to make gummy bears with distillate?

The distillate is a plant compound used for making cartridges and cannabis products. It is an amber-colored viscous liquid. It usually comes in a syringe and has a honey-like consistency. It is formed by boiling plant extract under high pressure. This process leaves an odor-less and aroma-less mixture.

Distillate gummies are a confectionery product with distilled THC mixture. A cannabis distillation is an extensive version of an experiment that you might have performed in your chemistry class.
The cannabis plant is heated up to melting point till obtaining cannabinoids. So, the compound is eluted out.  This is an extensive process to get an incredible potent THC up to 99%. Hence, you may incorporate cannabinoids into gummies.

Distillation equipment utilized for extraction of the cannabis plant

Do you know a cannabis plant is composed of over 100 cannabinoids as well as alkaloids such as terpenes, that enhance scents and flavor?

For making mouth-watering gummy bears with distillate, you should also take some things into considerations like

Dose of Distillate

When making gummy bears, you need to consider your ideal dose.  For this, you should divide the number of milligrams of distillate by the number of gummies made. Also, if you are eating many gummies at a time then you should lower the dose of distillate per gummy. You should avoid a high dose of distillate as that can lead to serious consequences like vomiting.

Choice of Distillate

You can make either distillate by yourself or you can buy it from the market. When you are making distillate, you have power over ingredients and strain. But if you buy it from the market then you can get the idea of the correct dose of distillate. But when you are using your distillate in making gummies then you do get an idea of the correct dose.

Conclusion

We hope you have found this blog interesting and informative.

Gummy bears candies are the perfect confectionery product with a huge variety of flavors with the easiest and inexpensive manufacturing process.

Not only this! You can make a fun-loving craft, sweet treat, and much more.

In addition, weed distillate is now a popular ingredient to make weed gummies. Gummy bears are not only meant for confectionery items, but you can also find their way to discreetly medicated such as multivitamins, anti-anxiety, etc.
So it's time to try and enjoy them! Enjoy gummy bears in good health.