How to Make Gummy Candy with Gelatin
gelatin is a hydrolyzed product ofcollagen, a fat-free high-protein substance that contains no cholesterol. It is a natural nutritional food thickener. Consuming gelatin does not cause weight gain or physical fatigue. As a powerful protective colloid with strong emulsifying ability, gelatin can inhibit the coagulation of proteins such as milk and soybean milk caused by gastric acid after entering the stomach, thus facilitating food digestion.
- Composition and Properties of Gelatin
- **Composition**: The protein in gelatin contains 18 kinds of amino acids, 7 of which are essential for the human body. Except for less than 16% water and inorganic salts, the protein content in gelatin accounts for more than 82%, making it an ideal protein source.
- **Physical Properties**: The finished gelatin is a colorless or light yellow transparent sheet or particle. Gelatin is insoluble in cold water but can slowly absorb water and swell; it can absorb 5 to 10 times its weight in water. The physical properties of gelatin vary greatly depending on the source, among which pigskin gelatin has superior properties, featuring high transparency and strong plasticity.
Gelatin is soluble in hot water to form a thermoreversible gel. It has excellent physical properties such as gel strength, affinity, high dispersibility, low viscosity, dispersion stability, water retention, coating property, toughness, and reversibility. Therefore, gelatin is an important food additive, widely used as a gelling agent, stabilizer, thickener, foaming agent, emulsifier, dispersant, clarifying agent, etc., in the food industry.
- Application of Gelatin in Candy Making
It is reported that more than 60% of the world's gelatin is used in the food and candy industry. In candy production, gelatin is used to make soft candies such as milk candies, protein candies, marshmallows, fruit juice gummies, crystal gummies, and gummy candies.
- **Function of Gelatin**: Gelatin has the role of water absorption and supporting the skeleton. After gelatin particles are dissolved in water, they can attract and interweave with each other to form a layered network structure, which coagulates as the temperature drops, allowing sugar and water to fully fill the gaps in the gel. This keeps the soft candy in a stable shape and prevents deformation even under significant load.
- **Control of Crystal Growth and Emulsification**: Gelatin can control the sugar crystals to become smaller and prevent the relative separation of oil and water in the syrup. As an emulsifier and adhesive in candy making, it reduces brittleness, facilitates molding and cutting, prevents the breakage of various types of candies, and improves the yield.
- **Dosage of Gelatin**: The general dosage of gelatin in candies is 5% to 10%. For crystal gummies, the best effect is achieved with a 6% gelatin dosage; for gummy candies, the addition amount is 6.17%; for nougat, it is 0.16% to 3% or more; for the thick syrup of candy mucus, the addition amount is 1.15% to 9%; and the formula for candy lozenges or jujube candies requires 2% to 7% gelatin.
Compared with starch and agar, gelatin gives candies more elasticity, toughness, and transparency, especially when producing soft candies and milk candies with sufficient elasticity and full shape, which require high-quality gelatin with strong gel strength.
- Key Points for Making Gelatin Gummy Candy
- **Influence of Acid and Alkali**: The fibrous protein of gelatin is highly susceptible to destruction by acid and alkali, until it loses its fibrous characteristics and changes its properties. The change of gelatin under the action of acid and alkali takes water as the medium, which can convert gelatin into peptone and amino acids. Therefore, pay attention to the impact of acid in the gummy candy material on the gel strength of gelatin.
- **Selection of Gelatin**: Pay attention to the gel strength when choosing gelatin. High-quality gelatin can form a gel at a concentration of less than 1%. When the concentration is 4% to 5%, the gel strength can bear about 500g of weight per square centimeter. The quality of gelatin is controlled by its viscosity in production—higher water absorption leads to greater viscosity. Therefore, the selected gelatin should meet the production standards in terms of strength.
- **Dosage of Gelatin**: The dosage of gelatin directly affects the texture of the gummy candy. Less gelatin makes the texture soft, while more gelatin increases elasticity and toughness. However, excessive toughness will make the candy uncomfortable to eat, so the dosage of gelatin must be controlled appropriately. Generally, the gelatin dosage for soft gummies is about 5%, for more elastic gummies it is about 8%, and for gummies with greater toughness, the gelatin dosage should be over 10%.
- **Selection of Anticrystallization Substances**: Starch syrup is basically used as the anticrystallization substance for soft candies, while inverted syrup is often used for gelatin gummies. This is because the viscosity of gelatin sol is very high, and starch syrup also has a high viscosity. When slightly cooled, the viscosity of the syrup often affects the molding of casting. Therefore, replacing part of the starch syrup with inverted syrup can reduce the viscosity of the gummy candy syrup.
As a protein colloid, gelatin is inevitably affected by factors such as acid, alkali, and temperature, which also impact protein. In the production of gummy candies, fruit flavors are generally used, and the melting and dehydration of materials are completed under heating conditions, which will inevitably affect the strength and viscosity of gelatin. Therefore, in the actual production of gelatin gummy candies, it is necessary to control the pH value of the material, heating temperature and time, select the appropriate gelatin input amount and time, as well as the appropriate acidulant and its input time and amount. Repeated trials should be conducted according to different design requirements of the product to manufacture qualified products that meet the design requirements.