Calling all FSTDT cooks and candymakers

[TheL]

I recently got an ice tray that makes ice cubes the exact size and shape of Lego people!  Jay's brother suggested making Jello or gummies with it.  So I'm looking for a nice, thick gummi recipe.  I'm thinking close to Haribo's Gold-Bears in mouth-feel, since I got spoiled by those as a kid.  But most of the recipes I'm finding say they make pretty soft gummies--like thick Jello.

I've heard Haribo uses gum arabic or something similar to thicken up their bears, but I have no idea how to use the stuff, or how much I'd need.  Anyone have advice?  I'm not pressed for time--I'm thinking of making a few batches of gummies to put in holiday gifts this December, for instance--but I'd like to start experimenting soon, and it helps to have a place to start off from.

Also:  Some recipes have tons of sugar, some have tons of corn syrup, and some are completely sugar-free.  Should I take that to mean that sugar doesn't help the candy "set" at all, or is that part of the reason for the softness of some of the gummies?  Will honey work instead, or should I avoid the stuff?

[SimSim]

Sugar of whatever variety in something like that is probably just a sweetener. Jello and similar products use gelatin as the thickening agent. I'd be surprised if the recipes you found didn't call for it. I've never used gum arabic, so I have no idea. You're probably going to need to test and see what results you like the most. But then that's part of the fun of cooking.

[Cerim Treascair]

Sorry, at a loss on the gummis...

As regards the honey, you'll need to tweak the ratios.  It's not a 1:1 conversion, I believe it's a 2/3:1, honey to sugar.  And, obviously, it changes the flavor.  Experiment!

[TheL]

1st attempt:  2 batches, each containing 6 packets unflavored gelatin, 1 packet sugarfree Jell-O, 1/2 cup water.

Verdict:  Success!  The Lego men set after just 10 minutes in the freezer.  Since each batch was twice as much as I needed to fill the molds, I poured the rest into a regular ice cube tray.  The "cubes" were bigger, so they took twice as long to set.  I now have lots of jiggly goodness in black cherry and lemon flavors.

Cleaning the "dots" off the counter was easy, but ye gods, the saucepan was a mess!  Scalding-hot water is not fun to clean with by hand.

I'll leave them in the fridge tonight just to make sure, then take a piece to work as a tester to see how they hold up in the car for short periods.  Hopefully it's not hot enough here for them to melt.

[TheL]

One last note:  Perfect consistency, and they need to be somewhere around 150 F to melt, so they're car-safe.

If anyone wants to make these, they firm up nicely in the freezer.  Shallow candy molds take 10 mins, deeper ice cube trays take 20 mins.  The recipe makes around 20 pieces of candy, so make sure you have enough molds ahead of time.

[TheL]

Been experimenting with fruit juice instead of flavored Jell-O.  I seem to either get really sticky candies, or too-hard candies.  Hard to figure out the proper gelatin/juice ratio.