How to Make Hard Gummies: A Complete Guide

Gummy bears are those deliciously chewy sweets that everyone loves, especially kids. They've captured the hearts of people everywhere. But there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. Each gummy bear has to be perfectly balanced in terms of texture and flavour, and the consistency has to be just right. Have you ever wondered how to get that perfect consistency or stop them from becoming too chewy or hard?

Come with us as we take a look behind the scenes at hard gummy bears making. We'll show you how to create tasty, chewy treats that will satisfy every sweet craving!

What Are Hard Gummies?

Gummy bears are pretty much the ultimate chewy treat. They're soft and easy to bite into. But have you ever come across one that requires more effort to chew? The harder varieties offer a really interesting textural experience while slowly dissolving into a delicious sweetness.

Making harder gummies is all about getting the ratios between ingredients, gelatin type and drying time just right. Once you've got it down, you can produce treats that are perfect for you and your taste!

What Ingredients Do I Need to Get Hard Gummy Worms?

To make the best hard gummy worms, you need to get the ingredients just right. Here's a more detailed outline:

Main Ingredients:

• Gelatin: Gelatin is used as a protein-based gelling agent to give this candy its chewy texture. Different varieties have different effects on the final texture.
• Sugar: Not only is sugar used to sweeten gummy sweets, it plays an integral part in their structure. Interacting with gelatin to form an intricate network and add firmness.
• Corn Syrup: Corn syrup helps keep the texture smooth by preventing sugar from crystallising. It also adds moisture, which can affect the texture and hardness of the candy.
• Water: You need water to dissolve the sugar and gelatin. How much you use can make a big difference to the texture of the gummies. Using less water makes them firmer.
• Flavoring Oils: Flavoring oils add flavorings that give each candy its own unique taste and can enhance or alter the taste of its ingredients.
• Food Colouring: Gummy candies get their bright colours from food colouring added during production.

Additional Ingredients for Making Harder Gummies:

• Reduced Water: Reducing water can create denser, harder gummies.
• More Sugar: An increase in sugar can also contribute to creating harder textures.
• Longer Drying Time: Allowing your gummies to set for an extended time may result in harder consistency.

Why Do Gummy Bears Harden?

Gummy bears can sometimes transform from enjoyable chewy treats into less desirable hard candies due to a process known as desiccation.

Desiccation, the process of extracting moisture from substances by extracting moisture through evaporation, often takes the form of gummy bears being exposed to air for too long and their water molecules slowly evaporate away over time resulting in gelatin matrix becoming harder and less chewy over time.

Other factors which contribute to hardening gummy bears include:

Storage Conditions:

• Temperature: In general, high temperatures accelerate evaporation rates while low humidity environments tend to remove more of its moisture more quickly from gummies than higher humidities do.
• Air Exposure: Air exposure can hasten this process even more and accelerate moisture loss from these treats as can direct air exposure can further promote moisture evaporation from these sweet treats.

Ingredient Ratios:

• Water Content: Lower initial water contents may lead to firmer gelatin gel as it ages.
• Gelatin Types: Certain varieties may give firmer texture results than others.

How to Create Your Own Hard Gummies at Home?

Are you ready for an epic journey into homemade hard gummy bears? Join me as we enter this delightful world of delicious homemade hard gummies!

Step 1: Prepare Your Ingredients

Gather the following ingredients:

• Unflavored gelatin
• Sugar
• Light corn syrup
• Water
• Food coloring
• Flavoring oil

Step 2: Bloom the Gelatin

Sprinkle the gelatin over water in a small bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes to absorb the liquid.

Step 3: Combine Ingredients For Best Results

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and bloomed gelatin and heat gently over low heat while constantly stirring to dissolve all of the sugar completely.

Step 4: Add Flavor and Color

Remove your saucepan from heat, and mix in your desired food coloring or flavoring oil to achieve your desired color and taste.

Step 5: Pour into Molds

Once greased, lightly pour your mixture into silicone molds to pour.

Step 6: Drying Time

For softer gummies, allow them to air dry at room temperature for 24-48 hours before placing molds into a dehydrator set at the lowest possible temperature (around 135°F) for 8-12 hours or leaving them out in an ideal warm dry spot over several days.

For harder gummies, use either dehydrators with lower settings (around 135°F) for 8-12 hours of dehydrating or leaving in warm dry environments for several days for additional drying.

Step 7: Remove and Store

To store them safely at room temperature once your gummies have dried completely, carefully pop them out of their molds before placing them in an airtight container for storage.

How to Make Commercial Hard Gummy Bears?

Commercial hard gummy bear production requires more complex methods and professional gummy making machine than home production. Plus, special tools must also be in place for precisely controlling ingredients and conditions. Here's an outline:

1. Ingredient Sourcing and Prep

High-grade ingredients such as gelatin, sugar, corn syrup and water are purchased from reliable vendors and tested to ensure consistent product quality. Precise measurements ensure this.

2. Gelatin Bloom

Gelatin is combined with water to activate its gelling properties and bloomed to achieve the ideal texture and look for this dessert recipe.

3. Cooking and Mixing

Ingredients such as sugar, corn syrup and bloomed gelatin are cooked together in large kettles under vacuum to remove air pockets that might form and prevent crystallization of sugar crystals. At specific temperatures and Brix levels the mix must then be cooked to completion.

flavoring oils and food colorant are mixed into the hot mixture before being thoroughly mixed in with it.

4. Molding

The hot mixture is transferred to high-speed molding machines where it will be injected into silicone or metal molds using injector guns.

5. Drying

After being placed into molds, air bubbles must be eliminated to ensure even distribution of mixture in each. The molds are then transported through an exact temperature and humidity controlled drying tunnel where excess moisture is removed while also setting its texture.

6. Cooling and Demolding

Once dried, gummies need to be cooled before being extracted from their molds for demolding and cooling.

7. Polishing (Optional)

Some gummies may benefit from being polished to enhance both appearance and texture.

8. Quality Control

Stringent quality controls are performed on each batch of gummies to ensure they meet specific quality criteria, such as texture, flavor, color and microbial contamination testing.

9. Packaging

These gummies come packaged in various forms and sizes of packaging to fit their different sizes and uses.

10. Distribution

Finally, the packaged gummies are distributed to retailers and wholesalers for sale.

The End

Making hard gummy bears is a fun and rewarding process that requires a bit of patience and attention to detail. Once you've got a handle on the science of gummy making and you've tried out different ingredients and techniques, you can start creating a whole range of hard gummy treats to satisfy any sweet tooth.

If you're looking to take your gummy-making skills to the next level or start your own candy business, it's worth thinking about investing in high-quality gummy making equipment. iPharMachine can offer a range of solutions that are tailor-made to fit your needs. Get in touch today to find out more about how our products can help you create amazing gummy treats.