How to Make Gummy Bears at Home

Gummy bears are a cute and delicious snack that you can make at home easily with the right ingredients.

Have you ever wanted to create your own real fruit gummy bears?

In this article, we'll show you how to master the gummy creation process at home.

 

How to Make Best Gummy Bears at Home

You'll need:

• 1/4 cup real fruit juice
• 1 tablespoon gelatin
• 1-3 tablespoons sugar
• Gummy bear mold
• dropper/pipette/tablespoon for dispensing
• saucepan and stovetop
• refrigerator for cooling

 

 

1. Prepare the Gummy Bear Mold

The only way to get the cute gummy bear shape you're looking for is to use a pre-made mold that can shape your gummies while they cool. 

You can find gummy bear molds (and molds for many other kinds of gummies) online, or at your local housewares store. They are usually quite affordable and are made of flexible, durable plastic. 

Make sure to choose a flexible mold so you can bend it to get the gummies out.

The size and shape of the mold will determine what your gummies look like, so browse and choose the design you like best. If you like bigger gummies, look for bigger molds.

2. Add 1/4 cup of Fruit Juice to a Saucepan

The base for your gummy mixture comes from real fruit juice.

You can use any kind you like, and this will produce gummies in different colors with different flavors. You can even use mixes of different fruit juices to create new flavors and colors!

Grape juice is a great choice for first-time gummy makers. It has a strong flavor and a vibrant color.

3. Add the Gelatin

Gelatin is what gives gummies their texture, and what holds them together as a solid. You can buy it as a granular powder.

If you are a vegan, you may already know that gelatin is an animal product. To make vegan gummies instead, just replace the gelatin in this recipe with a plant-based ingredient called pectin. It works just as well and will give you fully vegan gummies.

Add the gelatin (or pectin) to the saucepan. You'll need 1 tablespoon of gelatin, for 1/4 cup of juice.

Stir the gelatin into the mixture until it dissolves.

4. Add Sugar and Heat to Dissolve

Technically you can leave the sugar out - since the fruit juice you're using has plenty of sugar on its own - but if you want gummy bears that are just as sweet as the ones you buy from a package, you can add a little bit of extra sugar or sweetener.

Add 1 to 3 tablespoons of sugar to sweeten the mix. As you do, turn the burner on the stove to a low heat setting and allow the mixture to warm. 

Continue heating and stirring the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved.

5. Pipette the Liquid Gummy mixture into the Mold

Once the gummy mixture is mixed together and warmed in the saucepan, it is ready to add to the flexible plastic gummy bear mold.

This can be challenging since the gummy bear spaces in the mold are very small, the saucepan is big, and the liquid is hot.

The best way to get the mixture into the molds is to use a dropper or pipette. You can find these in a housewares store, or you can use one of the laboratory versions if you have one on hand. 

Pull a bit of the mixture into a pipette, and then dispense it into the spaces in the mold, gummy bear by gummy bear.

Try to minimize the amount of air you pull in with the mix and refill the pipette before you get to the bottom. The air bubbles will remain in the gummy bears after they solidify, which doesn't affect the flavor but doesn't look as good.

If you don't have access to a dropper or pipette, you can make do by using a teaspoon and pouring it carefully into the small molds. If you overfill them or make a mess, you can just scrape the mold and wipe up any excess. This requires a little more time and attention, but you can get the same great results.

6. Let it Cool and Pop-Out Your Gummy Bears

We're almost done!

Now that your gummy bears are in the mold, all you need to do is let them cool.

However, we don't let them cool too quickly as this can disrupt the process. While they're still steaming hot from being in the saucepan, allow the gummies to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before putting them in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Once they have been allowed to cool, your gummy bears are ready!

The flexible mold should make it easy to pop each gummy out of its slot, but you might need to be patient with some of them. Take your time and make sure that each gummy comes out whole.

There you have it! A harvest of healthy, delicious, homemade gummy bears. You can make these in large batches and snack on them throughout the week, or whip up a batch whenever you'd like a treat.

 

 

The Secret to Making Good Gummy Bears

It's really easy to make great-tasting gummy bears at home, although it does require a special mold, and a dropper or pipette to get the best results.

The secret to making great gummy bears is to heat the mixture slowly, without burning it, and to cool it slowly as well. This requires a little bit of extra patience, but it pays off with perfect gummies every time.