Technically you could even take the temperature a few degrees higher still, although you do risk burning the fruit if you do. I took it a bit higher than a typical pâte de fruit, since I wanted a firmer texture. The difference between this recipe and a jam is the quantity of pectin and the temperature to which it is cooked. You’re essentially making a really firm jam, or a pâte de fruit, which achieves its unique texture through the combination of sugar, pectin, and acid. If you’re looking for a textural comparison, think more along the lines of a gumdrop or the inside of a jelly bean, tender and jelly-like, as opposed to the chewy, more elastic characteristics of a gummy bear (which are usually gelatin-based). You’ll just have to trust me on this one. It’s actually really hard to capture the dynamic texture of the gummy, static photos simply can’t capture kinetic attributes like bounce and squish. You can also increase the citric acid in the coating for a truly mouth-puckering result. You can certainly opt to use just sugar if you wanted a sweeter gummy (though don’t leave out the citric acid in the candy base itself as that is necessary for a proper set). The gummy itself is not overly sour rather, the tart kick comes from a coating of sugar mixed with citric acid. Both the sugar and the citric acid serve to amp up the strawberry flavor even more. Made using real fruit (versus fruit extract or flavoring concentrates like many gummy recipe), these homemade gummies taste like a perfectly ripe spring strawberry, only more intense. There is a lot of info in this post, including plenty of sugar science, that I encourage you to read through before attempting this recipe. Now that that is cleared up, let me tell you a bit about these delightful (and family friendly!) sour strawberry gummy candies. I have no experience with such confections (we live in the wrong state for that), and thus I cannot advise as to how you might convert this recipe into that kind of recipe, so please don’t ask. Don’t get me wrong, they are plenty fun, but just not that kind of fun, if you know what I mean. These pectin-based gummies are sweet and sour with a delightful jelly-like texture that you’ll adore.īefore we start, let me just say: these aren’t those kinds of gummies. Making your own gummy candies is not for the feint of heart, but the results are well worth the effort. These homemade sour gummies are bursting with strawberry flavor from real fruit, coated with citric acid and sugar for a spectacularly sour finish.

Homemade pectin gelatin candy