QC#70 – LEGO Gummies

Homemade LEGO gummy candies, that are snack-able and stackable!

Full project video: http://bit.ly/LegoGummies
You can get the LEGO molds on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1PTi9dD

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Music by Jason Shaw (RP-Clattertrap)
http://www.audionautix.com

Project Inspired By: SFHandyman’s Instructable article: http://bit.ly/IBSFHandyman

WARNING:

This video is only for entertainment purposes. If you rely on the information portrayed in this video, you assume the responsibility for the results. Have fun, but always think ahead, and remember that every project you try is at YOUR OWN RISK.

Project History & More Info:

Who doesn’t love gummy candy, and who doesn’t love LEGO?

5 years ago I was fascinated with it, wondering how it was made, and what gave it its gummy texture. It feels so good on the teeth to bite into it, and my kids go crazy for them .. so I spent a bit of time researching how they’re made commercially.

My biggest motivation for doing this was to see if we could make our own at home, and I’m actually still trying to figure out how to make gelatin and corn syrup from scratch, so if I can figure out how to do that, maybe I’ll show how to do it in another project video.

Only a small handful of you have ever seen the LEGO Gummy video I made in 2010, and that’s because it was nearly 5 years ago, before I really got serious about making videos. I took it off my channel in 2012 because I had full intentions of making a better version, so here it is .. 3 years later! 🙂

Now I wanted to make candies that made people look twice, and LEGO bricks instantly came to mind because what’s more awesome than LEGO and gummy put together? But I wasn’t sure where could you get a mold for making LEGO bricks.

Surfing around the internet, I stumbled across an awesome Instructable by SFHandyman: http://bit.ly/IBSFHandyman

To my amazement, not only had he shown how to make a mold for making LEGO candy, he also made LEGO gummies as well!

I played around with loads of variations in recipes to see what texture and tastes I liked the best. And I’ve kept experimenting off and on for the last 4 years, using my kids and wife for feedback. They gobble them up no matter what variations I use, but I’ve finally settled on 1/2 cup of very cold water, 1/4 cup of corn syrup, 2 packets of unflavored gelatin, and 1 pack of Jell-O. I’ve found that the corn syrup seems to help smooth out the texture and the taste.

If you try making this recipe, it’s very important to start the gelatin in cold water. Stir it up, then let it sit for 5 minutes before you turn on the heat. Otherwise, you’ll get gobby clumps of undissolved gelatin in your syrup that doesn’t look very appetizing.

If you’re a practicing Vegan and don’t want to use gelatin, try looking for recipes that use Pectin. It’s made from fruits.

The candies come out crystal clear, firm, don’t stick to your fingers, and taste amazing. They are very sweet, but don’t taste as sugar loaded as gummy bears. And while the texture is a little different than gummy bears as well, in my opinion these might be better and actually more addictive.

I originally made my silicone mold with a 2 part mix from a special effects supply company. I used real LEGO bricks set on a LEGO base, and built a makeshift retaining wall with bricks and play-dough. I don’t plan to make a tutorial on how to make the mold, but I want to do a video on how to make a silicone mold in general. It’s amazing to see how much detail the silicone can transfer to the final gummy products. If you look closely at my candies you can even see the little “LEGO” text on top of the gummy LEGO studs.

I would have to say this project is my kids favorite. They love to get involved and help stir the gummy mix together, and the candies are always gone within minutes of serving. Even my wife enjoys having a few every now and again.

To make sour gummies, we often add citric acid. They are incredible! But if you don’t have citric acid, try taking SFHandyman’s suggestion and add vitamin C. The citric and ascorbic acids in the vitamins sour them the same way, which actually makes them taste just as great, and enriches them with vitamin C as well.