Homemade Gummy Candies: Making Gummy Bears
Content
It's hard to find a person who doesn't love candy. Sweets have been around since early childhood. They are a constant presence in our lives, filling them with delicious flavor. Chocolates, regular caramel, lollipops, and toffee—all are familiar to us. However, all this confectionery splendor would be incomplete without mentioning marmalade.
The confectionery product, created by the French, was further developed in Italy, where jelly was transformed into a full-fledged, finished confectionery product – marmalade. A little later, as a derivative of marmalade, jelly candies appeared, a confectionery product that was especially popular with children.
The process for making jelly candies is similar to that of marmalade. The difference lies in the way they are made into small, convenient single-serving portions. Using fruit and berry juices simmered with sugar, thickener, and various flavorings, you can make a delicious sweet product at home—marmalade—by cutting it into regular pieces and turning it into candies.
Pectin, gelatin, or agar-agar are commonly used as thickening agents. The modern confectionery industry primarily uses pectin to produce jelly candies, a component that provides greater density and elasticity to confectionery products.
To create jelly treats at home, all you need is gelatin. Unlike store-bought candies, these candies meet the strictest culinary and safety standards. The confections we make ourselves are pleasing to the eye and completely safe to eat.
How to make jelly candies at home?
You can make this treat at home using ingredients you already have in the refrigerator. Every home cook has jam or frozen berries. Purified fruit juices and milk are also excellent. Jelly candies are usually multicolored, so you can use various sweet and sour juice combinations during the preparation process. Multilayered marmalades look very original and have excellent taste.
The advantage of natural fruit and berry juices is that they allow you to make natural jelly, without harmful dyes and flavors. Gelatin is used as a thickener. The texture of the treat depends on the amount of gelatin used. Through simple experimentation, you can learn to create sweets with a soft texture or achieve a denser consistency.
The recipe for making jelly candies is as follows:
- gelatin, purified - 2 teaspoons;
- half a glass of cold water;
- 150 ml of fruit and berry juice;
- 300 g of sugar.
Cooking process
If you want to make multi-layered jelly candies, use different juices in appropriate proportions. This means preparing several types of sugar syrup. Preparation begins with preparing the gelatin, which is soaked in cold water.
In a separate bowl, prepare the syrup. Pour in the juice and add the sugar. Cook for 10 minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved, then pour in the swollen gelatin, stirring thoroughly. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring constantly and at a gentle boil. The more liquid evaporates, the thicker the candies will be.
At home, preparing molds for future candies is more difficult, so pour the finished jelly into a baking pan. Line the bottom of the pan with foil to make it easier to remove the finished jelly. It's important that the jelly layer be no more than 3-4 cm thick. Let the jelly cool until it's completely set. Remove the finished marmalade from the pan and cut into neat pieces. If desired, you can roll the cut pieces in coconut flakes or dip them in hot chocolate, making the jelly candies even more delicious.
Layered jelly candies are made in the same way, only much longer. It takes time to prepare the syrup with each new ingredient, after which each new layer is poured into the prepared mold one by one. Allow the prepared layer to set, then pour the next layer, and so on, layer by layer.
The finished sweets are served on a plate or in a candy bowl.
