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Before you begin, check your ingredients
and make sure that you have the following:
Colored, flavored sugar, powdered seaweed, sour mix, molding starch,
and seaweed.
A note about making the molds:
You'll notice that we didn't include any plastic molds in this kit.
Instead, we've included molding starch, which is corn starch with
a little bit of mineral oil added so that it holds the impressions
better. This is the way that real candy makers make gummy candies
like jelly beans. We wanted to let you make your candies into any
shape you want, you can use the molding starch over and over when
you make new gummies, and, of course, it's bio-degradable! (Naturally,
feel free to use molds if you have them...)
1) First, find some household objects you'd like to use as mold-makers.
The best ones are small and shallow, with minimal detail, such as
refrigerator magnet numbers and letters, or the back of a teaspoon.
You can also use plastic animal or people figures, fingers, or even
your whole hand print to make shapes. (hint: flexible straws make
great-looking worms.) Wash and dry all of the figures before you
start!
2) Now, pour the molding starch onto
a dinner plate and lightly smooth out the surface with the back
of a spoon. Push your shapes or fingers firmly into the molding
starch, and lift them out carefully so that the impressions are
clean and the details are clear.
Now, you're ready to make the Gummies:
If you're using a microwave: 3) Empty
the powdered seaweed (it's agar and carrageenan) into a transparent,
microwavable bowl or glass measuring cup with sides at least 3"
tall.
4) Add 1/2 cup water and stir thoroughly
so that there are no lumps.
5) Rinse the seaweed well under running
water so that you remove the salty taste and add it to the water.
6) Heat the mixture for 2 minutes
at high power in the microwave. The mixture must foam up. If it
hasn't foamed after 2 minutes, try intervals of 30 seconds until
it foams.
7) Lift the seaweed out with a fork
and shake it a little so that the carrageenan clinging to it stays
in the bowl. Notice that clear gel around the seaweed- that's carrageenan!
(You can dispose of the seaweed at this point- it's done its work.)
8) Stir the flavored, colored sugar
packet into the hot mixture. Stir it and put it back into the microwave
for 1 minute or until it foams up again (you may need to stir it
if it only foams up on one side of the bowl)
9) Pour the mixture into the impressions
you made and let the candies cool in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes.
10) Remove the gummies from the molding
starch. Run the gummies quickly under water and dry them.
11) Cut open the bag containing the
sour mix, and put your gummy candies in the bag. Shake so that the
gummies get coated lightly. By the way, if the sour mix is too sour
for you, you can dilute it by simply adding some sugar.
12) You will probably have extra
gummy mixture, so simply smooth out the molding starch again on
the plate, make new impressions, heat up the mixture until it dissolves
and pour. One really interesting thing about seaweed gels is that
they are "thermally reversible", something gelatin is
not. That's why you can heat them again and again- gel, un-gel,
gel, un-gel.
13) Admire and enjoy your gummy creations!
Now that you know how easy it is to Make
Your Own Gummies from scratch, we know that you're going
to want to make more!
Order a new kit for your friends, class, scout
troop or your next birthday party: Order
Now for only $13!
They also make great gifts for kids (ages 8 and up)!
And, if you liked our Make Your Own Gummies Kit,
we bet you'll also like the Make
Your Own Chocolate Kit and the Make
Your Own Chewing Gum Kit.
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