Chefsteps gummies

[pastryani]

I’m hankering for gummy bears and came across this Chefsteps recipe:

 

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/gummy-bears

 

Is it just me, or does 70g of gelatin (SEVENTY!!!) seem kind of high?  It calls for sheet gelatin, so I imagine that’s about ~30-40 sheets?  The rest of the ingredients total to about 650g.  Has anyone made this with success?  I don’t want to use all that gelatin if I’ll be getting rubber bullets instead of gummy bears at the end. 😉

[Okanagancook]

Scroll down to the comments section....lots of information.

[pastryani]

Thanks, I went thru the comments and though some people say it turned out, I was  asking more because the amount of gelatin seems so high.  (when I use even 1/4 of this amount I can taste the gelatin flavor). 

[Kerry Beal]

Gummy recipe I have has about the same proportions.

Edited March 9, 2019 by Kerry Beal (log)

[minas6907]

I make gummies on a regular basis, the amount of gelatin doesn't seem unusual. Just my thoughts, though, I sort of find the chef steps recipe hard to trust. They say the formula is the original haribo recipe, which I dont doubt, but something isnt adding up. Theres no boiling of the syrup, and if you follow the instructions, your more or less just mixing everything together. In the comments alot of people complain about why the gummies are sticky, and its because they are sweating, too much water in the formula, you need to boil it out. The note about sorbitol is interesting if it changes texture, I''d be down for adding it from now on, I'll do some googling and testing, but in the instructions they say the sorbitol is vital, and in the ingredients list, they say its optional, so I'm not sure what to think about that, nor the sentance which reads "Sorbitol, a sugar alcohol, is vital to this recipe, lending the gummies their springy quality, but you can flavor them with any essential oil you like." That sounds like something got edited incorrectly, I'm not sure what to make of that. Also, to insinuate that you need a sous vide setup (not listed as optional) to make the gummies is silly. Like I said, I could be wrong about all this, but over the years I've learned to a reasonable degree when a recipe is not worth trying. Nothing bad about chef steps though, I admire the amount of confectionery recipes they have that go beyond the basics (the black licorice recipe is the absolute best I've seen anywhere) However, I've seen others that seem to be a bit off.

 

If you have a copy of Chocolates and Confections, the gelatin gummies formula works perfectly. Dont skip on the acid. Citric for citrus flavors, or malic for non citrus fruits, but I have yet to mess around with tartaric. Just my opinions :-).

[pastrygirl]

the 15 g of tartaric acid is pretty strong, that might contribute to a softer texture.

[pastryani]

Thanks for sharing your experiences & opinions.  I agree @minas6907 that the chefsteps recipe seems overly complex - I mean a sour vide for gummies?!! 😜 But it seems that they’re kind of known for using specialty tools like vacuum machines and specialty ingredients for most of their recipes. 

 

Thanks for the C & C book tip - I just checked it and maybe I’ll try that first. 👍

 

As an aside - has anyone used powdered gelatin in lieu of sheets?  If so what’s the conversion you used?  (Online it says 1TBSP powdered = 3 sheets)

[keychris]

it really depends on the bloom strength of your powder. I'd go by weight though, it's easy enough to find the weight of different strength gelatin sheets online.

[teonzo]

11 hours ago, minas6907 said:

The note about sorbitol is interesting if it changes texture, I''d be down for adding it from now on, I'll do some googling and testing, but in the instructions they say the sorbitol is vital, and in the ingredients list, they say its optional

 

Sorbitol should give a better texture both about smoothness and elasticity. But I don't think this ingredient was available when this confectionery was first created, so saying it's "vital" is quite a stretch (as using the sous-vide).

 

 

 

Teo

 

[pastryani]

 Using this thread as a steppings stone, I’d also like to ask if anyone has any experience with cola flavored gummy bears.  Do people use straight up Coca Cola, or do they use concentrated flavor syrups?   If it’s the latter, which brand do you use and how does it change the recipe since it’s so sweet already?   (Btw, when I was looking for cola syrups, I found that a lot of people make their own with ingredients that I never thought would be in cola.  Interesting, but not something that I’d want to take on myself) 

[Tri2Cook]

4 hours ago, pastryani said:

 Using this thread as a steppings stone, I’d also like to ask if anyone has any experience with cola flavored gummy bears.  Do people use straight up Coca Cola, or do they use concentrated flavor syrups?   If it’s the latter, which brand do you use and how does it change the recipe since it’s so sweet already?   (Btw, when I was looking for cola syrups, I found that a lot of people make their own with ingredients that I never thought would be in cola.  Interesting, but not something that I’d want to take on myself) 

Most places that sell the extracts for making root beer and other sodas usually carry a cola extract as well. Not sweetened at all and very concentrated (a 2 oz, bottle is used with 4 lbs. of sugar and 4 gallons of water). I've never tried the cola extracts but some of the root beer extracts are good so maybe there's a cola version that is too.

[minas6907]

On 3/10/2019 at 1:57 PM, pastryani said:

 Using this thread as a steppings stone, I’d also like to ask if anyone has any experience with cola flavored gummy bears.  Do people use straight up Coca Cola, or do they use concentrated flavor syrups?   If it’s the latter, which brand do you use and how does it change the recipe since it’s so sweet already?   (Btw, when I was looking for cola syrups, I found that a lot of people make their own with ingredients that I never thought would be in cola.  Interesting, but not something that I’d want to take on myself) 

Normally you approach flavoring a gummy the same way you would hard candy, with food grade essential oils or candy "oils." The latter is natural or artificial flavor mixed with propylene glycol for a carrier. 

 

I can't say how you'd flavor with concentrated mixtures for soda, but I have a feeling youd run into issues. If you use the concentrate as a flavoring at the end, I don't think there would be sufficient flavor, and if you include it in the boiling syrup, I'm certain the acid in the concentrate would cause separate issues. Lorann has candy oils that are cola flavor, that's the safest way to go, but it may not be exactly what your looking for. But please experiment, and post your results! 

 

Also, you mentioned bears. Are you using silicone molds or a starch bed? Just make sure your using a warm funnel 🙂

[pastryani]

Thanks @Tri2Cook - I haven’t come across any extract-only flavorings, but rather mostly sugary syrups.  Thanks @minas6907 - I’ll let you know when I do the cola gummies.  I’ve got silicone molds, no starch impressions here - too messy!

[pastryani]

Update:  tried a fraction of the greweling recipe and as @minas6907 said, they turned out nice and chewy.   The only issue I ran into was in depositing the gelatin mixture into the molds - it firmed up pretty quickly so it was gooey, messy, and I ended up with quite a few bears missing parts (they were the first to be eaten so didn’t suffer). 😉 

 

[teonzo]

If you are using a silicone mold and end up with the troubles you described, then you can put the mold in a hot oven or in the microwave, just to heat enough the gummies so they go back in fluid state to fill the mold cavities an be on level.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[no10]

On 3/11/2019 at 2:16 PM, minas6907 said:

Normally you approach flavoring a gummy the same way you would hard candy, with food grade essential oils or candy "oils." The latter is natural or artificial flavor mixed with propylene glycol for a carrier. 

 

I can't say how you'd flavor with concentrated mixtures for soda, but I have a feeling youd run into issues. If you use the concentrate as a flavoring at the end, I don't think there would be sufficient flavor, and if you include it in the boiling syrup, I'm certain the acid in the concentrate would cause separate issues. Lorann has candy oils that are cola flavor, that's the safest way to go, but it may not be exactly what your looking for. But please experiment, and post your results! 

 

Also, you mentioned bears. Are you using silicone molds or a starch bed? Just make sure your using a warm funnel 🙂

Hi @minas6907, have you ever tried using fruit puree to flavor Greweling's gummy formulation rather than extract or oils?

[minas6907]

On 7/15/2022 at 3:03 PM, no10 said:

Hi @minas6907, have you ever tried using fruit puree to flavor Greweling's gummy formulation rather than extract or oils?

No, its not something I've pursued at all. Using an oil in a gummy really is the way to go. I know the appeal of using a fruit puree in a gummy, but it will mess with the formulation. While I think it is possible, I think by the time you add enough puree to taste it, you've added waaaay more water to the gummy then you should have.

 

I've seen some confectioners make things like 'natural blackberry gummies.' What they do is add blackberry puree to the gummy mix, but also add 'natural blackberry flavor' for the actual flavor. They put black berry puree on the ingredients list, giving the illusion that its such a natural product (since the puree will come before the flavor on the ingredients list), when all they are doing is just using the blackberry puree for color. I think its a cheap shot, but I'm sure it sells their products.

 

All in all, I do make small adjustments to Greweling formulas, but adding a puree instead of a oil is a pretty drastic change, you'd need to change other parts of the formula, and I just havent messed with it.