Gummy bears are small fruit gum candies. Their size is roughly 2cm long and shaped in the form of bears. In English-speaking countries, they are similar to a jelly baby. Gummy bears are popular worldwide, based on gelatin, and sold in various shapes and colors. The main ingredients for these sweets are gelatin, glucose syrup, sugar, starch, food flavoring, food coloring, and citric acid.
Do you know that bodybuilder also eats gummy bear for help boosting their blood sugar adequately? Below we have compiled eight facts about these yummy and chewy sweets widely loved by many people, from children to adults.
1. History of gummy bears
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Gummy Bears[/caption]
They originated from Germany, created by Hans Riegel Sr. and called
Gummibär, from its endearing form called
Gummibärchen, which means little gum or gummy bear. The original base ingredient for this sweets is gum arabic, hence the name gum or gummy. It was first made by Hans Riegel Sr., a confectioner from Bonn. He started the Haribo company in 1920 and made the Dancing Bear (
Tanzbär), the small and affordable fruit-flavored gum candy treat, which was inspired by the trained bears seen in street festivals and markets in Europe. Later, he made another successor called the Gold-Bear (
Goldbär). Even during the Weimar Germany’s hyperinflation period, Haribo’s Dancing Bear remained affordably priced in kiosks. The success of these gummy bears later made Haribo’s candy company world-famous in 1967.
2. Ingredients of gummy bears
These sweet and chewy snacks made initially from gum arabic, but today, it has developed using edible gelatin that can also be found in licorice, marshmallows, and soft caramels. Edible gelatin is the ingredient that makes gummy bears have a chewy texture and long shelf life. Edible gelatin is a protein obtained from boiling skin, ligaments, tendons, or bones with water, usually obtained from cows or pigs.
There are several organic candies suitable for vegetarians or those who follow religious dietary laws. The recipes don’t include ingredients from animals and use bovine gelatin or using pectin, or starch.
3. How are gummy bears made?
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Gummy Bears[/caption]
You might wonder how these delicious little treats are made. They are made in factories using a specialized machine called a starch mogul. The main ingredients, including corn syrup, water, sugar, gelatin, food coloring, and flavorings from fruit juices and citric acid, are mixed in a large vat. After mixing them, the liquid will be cooked until it thickens, resulting in a slurry. The slurry will be poured into molds for shaping.
The molds for gummy candies are lined with corn starch to prevent the gummies from sticking. The slurry will be poured into the molds and cooled down to 65 ̊F, and let it sit for 24 hours until the slurry is excellent and set. Then, the gummy candies are removed and placed into a large drum tumbler with a light food-grade oil to absorb the remaining corn starch, keeping the sweets soft and fresh. Then lastly, the gummy candies are packaged and sold.
4. Variations
Because gummy bears have been very successful, they spawned many other variations of gummy candies in the shapes of other animals or objects. These variations include rings, worms, frogs, snakes, hamburgers, hippos, penguins, lobsters, Smurfs, spiders, octopuses, apples, peaches, and many more. They are also offered in many sizes, from standard to smaller ones, and even weigh several kilograms. More giant sour gummy bears usually are larger in size and flatter than regular ones with softer texture and acid ingredients to produce sour flavor.
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Variations of Gummies[/caption]
5. Flavors
The flavors of gummy bears are varied. In the United States, there are five flavors of Haribo gummy bears, which are raspberry (colored in red), orange (orange-colored), lemon (yellow-colored), strawberry (green-colored), and pineapple (colorless). But some other brands might also sell them in different colors with different flavors. For example, Trolli’s red gummy bears are strawberry-flavored, while the green-colored is lime, and the grape is for the colorless one. They may also offer cherry, grapefruit, watermelon, mango, and many different refreshing flavors in other brands.
6. Nutritions
How much nutrition does a gummy bear contains? While ordinarily, they contain primarily empty calories, in recent years, there have been gummy bears that contain vitamin C or multivitamins to motivate the consumption of children who are picky eaters. The nutritional value of gummy bears per 100 g is that they have about 1.459 kJ (349 kcal), 77g of carbohydrates, 46g of sugars, 0g of fats, and 6.9 g of proteins.
However, gummy bears and candies stick to teeth and, if consumed too much, might lead to tooth decay. Gummy bears have an “addictive effect” because they are loaded with sugar. The more sugar we eat, the more we want to eat, as it has the same effects as addictive substances such as cocaine or nicotine on our brains. It is nearly impossible to eat just one gummy bear. However, take care not to eat too many gummy bears at once because they contain a lot of sugar and might lead to unhealthy effects. Gummy vitamins shouldn’t be consumed too much as they may cause diarrheas, constipation, vomiting, or headaches.
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Gummy Bears[/caption]
7. Gummy bears for bodybuilders?
Bodybuilders are recommended to eat gummy bears post-workout because gummy bears are sweetened with corn syrup and dextrose to help their bodies recover post-workout. By eating gummy bears, they can have high glycemic carbohydrates to refuel their muscles after an intense workout and feel less tired.
8. Alcohol gummy bear
People have been consuming gummy bears along with alcohol these days. The gummy bears are soaked in alcohol. The infusion process will take a few days, and the gummies will swell up to triple their size. The best alcoholic drinks to mix are vodkas, tequilas, dark rum, and many more. The alcoholic gummy bears can also make you drunk, so make sure you are eating them safely. Each bear holds about 3ml in its liquid form, which means about 10-12 bears equal a shot.