Here’s a healthy gummy bear recipe that uses just fruit, honey, gelatin, and love. A tasty take on the classic (but kinda junky) kid’s candy.
Healthy Gummy Bear Recipe? Really?! Yes!
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Now that my kids are entering the real world and learning aboutpixie sticks and cotton candy (gasp!), they have stumbled upon the adorable Haribo Gummy Bear package in the checkout line. I remember munching on these as a kid myself. But, when I recently looked at the package’s ingredients, I knew there had to be a better way!
Haribo Gummy Bear Ingredients in U.S.
Glucose syrup (from wheat or corn), sugar, gelatin, dextrose (from wheat or corn), citric acid, corn starch, artificial and natural flavors, palm kernel oil, carnauba wax, white beeswax, yellow beeswax, yellow 5, red 40, and blue 1
But if you break it down,it’s really about:
- some form of sugar (not all are bad)
- some type of fruit flavoring (could use the real thing)
- and gelatin.
I’ve talked about the manybenefits of gelatin before.So, in the scheme of things, these gummy bears could actually be a healthy “treat” when compared with others.
Haribo Gummy Bear Ingredients in Germany
Interesting to note: in Germany, where Haribo isheadquartered, they don’t use food dyes for color. Instead they use plant and herbal extracts. (Europeans always get the food right!) Here’s a list of their ingredients:
Glucose syrup; sugar; gelatin; dextrose; fruit juice from concentrate: apple, strawberry, raspberry, orange, lemon, pineapple; citric acid, lemon, pineapple; citric acid; fruit and plant concentrates: nettle, apple, spinach, kiwi, orange, elderberry, lemon, mango, passionfruit, blackcurrant, aronia, grape; flavorings; glazing agents: white and yellow beeswax; carnauba wax; elderberry extract; fruit extract from carob; invert sugar syrup
So, my recipe takesthe more German approach: fruit concentrates (juice), gelatin, and sugar (in the form of honey.)
Note: This is a slightly “highermaintenance” recipe than most of the ones you’ll find on this site. I had a fun timemaking these with mykids, but I certainly wouldn’t be making these on a regular basis. Too much work! 🙂 But, for a road trip, Halloween, a birthday party, or just a fun activity to do with the family, this gummy bear recipe isgreat.
Healthy Gummy Bear Recipe using fruit and honey small handful by Mama Natural
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Healthy Gummy Bear Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup organic juice for each color
- For the red gummy bear: pomegranate or cherry juice (100% juice not diluted with sugar and water)
- For the orange gummy bear: I used peach/carrot juice combo. You can also use apricot nectar juice. I also added in 4-5 drops of Orange essential oil before adding to molds. This gives them a great flavor!
- For the yellow gummy bear: I used a combo of orange and pineapple juices. You can add Lemon essential oil before adding to mold for an authentic lemon-y flavor.
- For the clear gummy bear: I used a mix of pineapple juice andlemonade.
- 1/3 cup Vital Proteins beef gelatin
- 2 TB lemon juice
- 1/2 raw cup honey
- Gummy bear molds with droppers (where to buy)
Healthy Gummy Bear Recipe using fruit and honey platefull
Directions:
- Put your cold juice into a sauce pan.
- Add your 1/3 cup of gelatin.
- Let it sit for a minute or two so the gelatin can “bloom”. (This will help prevent a clumpy or gritty finished product!)
- Turn on the heat to low to medium till the gelatin dissolves.
- Turn off heat and let sit for a few minutesto cool down.
- Add your lemon juice and raw honey. Stir well.
- Use a syringe and suck up your juice concoction and push out into your gummy bear mold.
- Let sit for 5 minutes so it sets and then put in fridge for one hour. Remove bears and enjoy!
Final notes:
This gummy bear recipe will make at least 100 bears of each color and last in the fridge for at least one week. You can also leave out in room temperature for a few days (just don’t let them get above, say, 85° For you’ll have a big bear meltdown.)
How about you?
Do you like gummy bears? Would you ever make a treat like this for your kids? Share with us in the comments below.
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FAQs
Ingredients and production
The traditional gummy bear is made from a mixture of sugar, glucose syrup, starch, flavoring, food coloring, citric acid and gelatin. However, recipes vary, such as organic candy, those suitable for vegetarians or those following religious dietary laws.
Are there any healthy gummy bears? ›
Made without any artificial colours or flavors, low in sugar and high in fibre, Better Bears naturally sweetened gummies makes snack time a breeze.
How do you make homemade gummies harder? ›
Ensure that the temperature you cook your gummy mixture at is above 240°F so that the desired hardness is achieved. The mold cavities are sprayed with oil or coated with any type of wax usually carnauba or beeswax, which allows them to be easily removed without getting stickier.
How to make gummy bears at home? ›
Instructions
- Pour 1/2 cup juice into a sauce pan set on low heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon honey.
- Add 2 tablespoons of gelatin.
- Mix until all dissolved and then remove from heat.
- Using the dropper, add into your mold.
- Place in fridge for 30 minutes to cool and form or until solidified.
The very first ingredient in the Harbio sugar free gummy bears is Lycasin. It is a syrup that consists almost entirely of maltitol, which is a polyol, aka, sugar alcohol. There are many other polyols too, which you have surely seen on labels, like sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, and so on.
Why is gummy bears healthy? ›
There are some health benefits to gummy bears such as those containing gelatine or pectin and made with natural ingredients. Gummy bears are a useful medium to absorb vitamins and minerals into the body and other beneficial additives when infused into the creation of the gummy bear.
Is it healthy to eat gummy bears everyday? ›
No! The traditional gummy bear is made from a mixture of sugar, glucose syrup, starch, flavoring, food coloring, citric acid, and gelatin. All the sugar and glucose syrup is bad for you because it's contained in excess. We all know too much sugar is very detrimental to your health.
Is it OK to eat gummy bears everyday? ›
What are the consequences of consuming excessive amounts of gummy bears? Consuming excessive amounts of gummy bears can have negative consequences such as flatulence, gut-churning, diarrhoea, cardiovascular disease, gaining weight and diabetes type 2.
Are gummy bears healthier than fruit snacks? ›
It is important to understand that fruit snacks are not a fruit substitute and have been classified by nutritionists as being slightly better than gummies. Many fruit snacks are artificially flavored and packed with added sugars and artificial colors and have little to no vitamin content.
Why aren t my homemade gummies chewy? ›
The major bottleneck in pectin-based gummy candy is to achieve a somewhat chewy texture as it is meant to be jelly-like. The tricks here are to maintain a precise pH of 3.5 during gel setting and not to heat up the pectin-sugar-water mixture beyond 220-240°F, otherwise, the candy may become sticky and caramelized.
The acid in the vinegar breaks down the protein, allowing more water into the bear, but also causes it to lose its shape, The salt water actually has less water than the gummy bear, so the water in the bear should move into the surrounding solution, causing the bear to shrink.
Why are my homemade gummies so soft? ›
When the gummy is too soft it generally means that the amount of gelatin in the recipe is too low, or the ratio of water is too high.
What do you coat homemade gummies with? ›
Cornstarch is used to create a thin skin-like layer between the outside air and the sticky gelled gummy within. A portion of this corn starch can be combined with powdered sugar to help prevent the dry mouthfeel that these starch coated gummies impart (a 1:1 ratio starch to powdered sugar works).
What do you coat homemade gummy bears with? ›
Sugar and Citric Acid Coating
Ingredients: Granulated sugar, encapsulated citric acid. Application: Mix sugar with a proportion of citric acid (1:4 ratio as a starting point). Coat the gummies evenly in the mixture.
Is it cheaper to make your own gummies? ›
Making your own edibles at home is way more cost-effective than buying them from a dispensary—especially if you're planning to serve them to a big group. (Check out our tips for elegantly serving gummies.) Homemade edible gummies also give you the freedom to customize flavors and potencies.
What are the main ingredients in gummies? ›
Ingredients. Gummy candies are made mostly of corn syrup, sucrose, gelatin, starch and water. In addition, minor amounts of coloring and flavoring agents are used. Food acids such as citric acid and malic acid are also added in order to give a tart flavor to gummies.
What is the gross ingredient in gummy bears? ›
Gelatin. Added to a variety of yogurts, Jell-O products and confections such as gummy bears, fruit snacks and jelly babies, gelatin is about 50 percent boiled pig skin and 25 percent cow bones.
What part of the pig is in gummy bears? ›
Two of the major ingredients in gummy candies are gelatin and carnauba wax. Gelatin is made from the cartilage, bones, hooves, or skin of slaughtered pigs, and sometimes other animals. “Carnauba wax, a key ingredient in car wax that produces a brilliant shine, is also found in gummy bears and fruit-flavored snacks.
What is the first ingredient in gummy bears? ›
The first base ingredient Riegel used was gum arabic, which led to the name gummy bears. Today, the base ingredient of gummy candies is edible gelatin. It's also found in licorice, soft caramels, and marshmallows. Edible gelatin gives gummy bears their chewy texture and long shelf life.
