My word for 2019 is enRICHment. It works on many levels (hopefully financially too!) but #1 on my list is learning. The top topic on that list is: candy making. I know, I am a bad influence as usual but it is calling my name and I listen to the foodie universe.
Please note that at the time of this treat-making process I really did not know what I was doing and was experimenting like a mad foodie scientist in the kitchen. I know some things about making candy but far from everything. I guess it is my next unexplored food frontier and I am learning a lot. Here is what happened…
The Ingredients
Believe it or not I wanted to be as “natural” as possible when making my first real gummies so I actually used all real ingredients. For syrup you need: 1 1/2 cup frozen blackberries and 1/3 cup water.
For the solidifier you need: 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 4 tsp gelatine and 1/4 cup water.
The “Technique”
You are supposed to bloom the gelatine in water but I thought, why do that when you can add flavour by blooming it in the lemon juice? Yeah, apparently, that can impact the gelatine. Doh!
Sprinkle gelatine over lemon juice and water. Let sit for at least 5 minutes.
The Blackberry Syrup
Put blackberries, 1/3 cup water and sugar in a small sauce pan over medium high heat.
Simmer for 5 minutes to help break down the berries and dissolve sugar.
Sieve the blackberry syrup and push out all the juices you can.
Putting It Altogether
Add lemon juice and gelatine (you may want to stir it together more before adding so it is NOT clumpy like in the above photo).
Stir gelatine until dissolved but do so off the heat. That is one rule I know for sure. Never boil gelatine!
I ended up with 1 1/3 cup liquid.
I used my measuring cup to pour the mixture into the molds but if you have an eyedropper or small ladle, go for it.
Chill gummies for at least 4 hours. I chilled mine overnight.
I was excited to see what they had pulled away from the sides. I thought that would make for easy unmolding.
Nope!!! Damn it!
You have to be really careful and do it very, very slowly and still… I have since discovered from my Auntie Laima I should brush a little cornstarch into the molds. Just like you would for clay! Other people spray PAM.
They probably would have been tougher without the lemon juice but I have to say, the lemon juice gave these gummies a nice bang of flavour.
They were not perfect but they were in good enough shape to share.
I brought them over for a Christmas treat during the holidays and they were a big hit but they quickly started to dissolve once left at room temperature too long.
I wanted to see if I could roll them in sugar like you can do with other candies and OMG the sugar immediately started to macerate the gummies! I only got this kind-of-OK shot before they started to dissolve.
Well, not bad for coming up with my own recipe and technique for something I really do not know anything about. If you make these, eat them straight out of the fridge. They are like dark purple jewels with a nice fresh lemon juice smack to the mouth.
FYI this is as healthy as I am going to go with candy making. All bets are off with what I come up with next!
Whoa…that was so good thank you, Suzie…I have an old candy-making recipe book that I’m a bit more confident to try, fail, or succeed. Love to experiment and enjoy seeing you do it as well! After all, I have someone that says he will eat my mistakes…ha. Or I will š
Oh good, I am glad I could help Cathy! Experimenting is so much fun, isn’t it? It’s true, it all tastes good even if it falls apart.
Is there such a thing as candy failure? I don’t think so! People still line up to eat it!
Good point Debra!
Fun moulds and great job on the photos!
Thank you!!!
That’s great Suzie! I’ve been thinking about candy making too lately, since I had great success with my latest fudge!! Alex loves gummies…maybe I’ll try these! š
Good job with fudge-making!!! That’s challenging too. I would recommend a little more gelatine to make them a little harder. Enjoy!
Hi, so I already deseeded my blackberries so I basically have just blackberry juice, any idea how much juice to use with the lemon juice, water, and gelatin?
thanks for sharing. So often on the internet you only see the successes but it is good to see that sometimes things don’t work out as planned. They look tasty though!
I’ve gotta say, I really like the way you write! Very clear, honest, funny. You’re also very brave to “experiment ” with recipes! I do to a small degree I suppose as I inherited my Grans ability to just “throw” ingredients together & have them turn out edible…
Thanks for sharing!