Blueberry Gummies

Over Christmas, I gave some thought to how I could continue challenging myself to work on my chocolate and candy-making skills in the new year. As the great day for resolutions approached, I was compiling my annual list of intentions when an ad popped up in my Instagram feed. It was for an online chocolate course. I scrolled past it knowing there was no way that it could compete with the professional chocolatier program I'd done about five years ago. But then every time I went on Facebook or Instagram, the same ad was there, taunting me. Finally I gave in and followed the link to see what it was about. The Now You Know course was comparatively inexpensive to begin with and at the time discounted by 50%. Ambivalent about their chocolate course, I started browsing their other offerings and stumbled upon one dedicated to candy making. Bingo! I bought the course.

Now, I purchased the course knowing there would be nothing in it that I couldn't find for free on YouTube. But that wasn't the point. The point was the structure a course would provide, with lessons to work through on a weekly basis. 

The first lesson focused on jelly and gummy candies. The lesson consisted of a few videos where techniques were demonstrated by Tony Morris of ToMo Candy. The course resources included two recipes. When I was finished reviewing the materials, I made a mental note to acquire a new candy thermometer (since I'd had difficulties with mine while making cremes in December) and added gelatin to my shopping list so that I could experiment with his recipe. 

You see, I've tried making gummies a few times before. There are several recipes floating around online that have you add plain gelatin to flavoured Jell-O. There's even an episode of Pioneer Woman where she makes homemade gumdrops to give as part of a Christmas cookie platter.  Do these recipes work? Yes. Do the have the consistency of a gummy? Sort of? It's more like really firm jello (maybe I'm splitting hairs). They also have no shelf life whatsoever. They begin weeping the same way pâte de fruits do and quickly spoil (within 2-3 days at room temperature). Don't get me wrong -- it's a fun activity on a snow day, to be sure -- but that's about it. 

And so this week, armed with a new candy thermometer, some blueberry flavouring, and the largest box of gelatin I've ever seen (and gave me sticker shock at the cash when I bought it), I set about my task. I measured and prepared ingredients. Then, I boiled the sugar mixture 265F, the hardball stage. After adding my flavouring, I stirred in a few drops of food colouring. Next, I heated the bloomed gelatin in the microwave until it melted before adding it to the sugar. I transferred the mixture into a measuring cup to make it easier to pour and worked as quickly as I could to fill my molds. 

This is where I encountered a minor snag. I hadn't taken out and prepared enough silicone molds, and had to go back to my stash to grab another (twice!). There can be a great deal of variation in terms of the yield of a recipe as a result of many factors, including how big the cavities of a mold are. For this recipe, which was supposed to make 50 gummies, I prepared four molds totaling 68 cavities. When done, I had 81 pieces. I left them to set overnight and cleaned up the incredibly sticky mess left behind by utensils. 

The next morning, I unmolded the blueberry gummies and dropped them into a sour sugar mixture. It started out ok, but as sticky residue built on my fingers, it became more and more difficult to remove the gummies and drop them into the sugar. I washed my hands several times before finishing the task. I arranged the majority of them in an airtight container and popped a few into bags to share with product testers (friends who enjoy sour gummies). I also couldn't resist trying one myself. 

The result? The texture is much more like that of a commercially produced gummy and I'm hoping that they will have a longer shelf life as a result (since I believe there is less water activity in them). The sour sugar coating creates the perfect pucker and as that subsides, the blueberry flavour emerges as a second wave. It could be stronger, but it is definitely present. All in all, I'd say this was a successful experiment. I can see the wisdom, however, in pouring a slab and cutting it into pieces. I suspect it would save time compared to peeling 81 jellies out of their molds.

I can't wait to see what's next in my 2025 candy-making adventure.