As a child growing up in the 80's and 90's in India, one of my favourite candy was a seemingly innocent looking gummy that we used to call "Jujubes" that we would buy at the neighborhood grocery store on weekends. The brightly coloured, sugar dusted gummies were the stuff of dreams and I have vivid memories of my little brother and I bickering over who got to choose their favourite colours first.
Fast-forward to 2017, as a parent living in the times where we are paying more attention to what our kids eat and the impact it has on their bodies, it is spooky to read the ingredients on the back of the average gummy candy - Corn Syrup, Sugar, Titanium Dioxide (which has been classifed as a Group 2B carcinogen possibly carcinogenic to humans by the IARC), Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 1 (all of which have been linked to ADHD, allergies and asthma), Artificial flavours.... Yikes!!
Now, I am not a mum who wants to deprive my child of the simple joys of childhood, but since I can't bring myself to buy the bag of gummy bears anymore, I make them at home using 3 very simple ingredients - Fresh fruit juice, Honey & good quality Gelatin. You can use any fresh fruit juice that you like but I am sharing our house-hold favourite Orange - Cinnamon & Chia Seed Gummy recipe for you to enjoy!
Ingredients: (Makes 12 - 16 large gummies)
- 1-1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
- 3 to 4 tbsp raw honey
- 1/2 tsp chia seeds
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 5 tbsp good quality powdered Gelatin (6 tbsp for a firmer gummy)
Method:
1. Whisk together the freshly squeezed juice and honey together in a saucepan. Place over low heat until the mixture is warmed thorough. Do not boil or it will damage the delicate enzymes and vitamins in the juice.
2. Add the chia seeds and ground cinnamon and mix gently. Sprinkle the gelatin on the top of the warmed juice-honey mixture.
3. Once the gelatin softens, whisk lightly to dissolve the gelatin into the juice mixture and remove any lumps from this "gummy mix". Pour the warm gummy mix into molds. Alternatively, pour into as shallow baking dish and place in the freezer for 30-45 mins until the gummy / jelly is set.
4. Carefully pop the gummies out of your molds / cut the set gummy jelly into desired shapes using a knife or cookie cutter. Ta dahhhh!!!
Although these Orange, Cinnamon & Chia seed gummies are a favourite in our home (with mommy, daddy and the little one) here are some more great flavour combinations (with veggies!) that I came across on the Modern Parents Messy Children Website. Sharing the image below to inspire you to go have fun in the kitchen with your kids on the weekend!
Note: The proportions of juice to honey and gelatin will remain more or less the same.
Image Source: www.modernparentsmessykids.com
