Small gummi bears are great, but for that extra special party snack make a ginormous sized gummi creation. I call mine the Gooey Duck. Essentially the strategy is to buy many pounds of cheap gummi bears and melt them into a mold of some sort (i used a cake mold) and then cool in refrigerator or freezer.
If you search online for World's Largest Gummi Bear, you get a link to Vat19.com offering a measly 1/2 lb gummi and their 'World's Largest' at 5 lbs. They also claim "there is no candy more magnificent or more powerful". Well unfortunately for them I made an even bigger gummi sculpture (at 6lbs though not a bear) 7 years ago!
Gummi=Gummy. Haribo calls them Gold Bears. Black forest calls them Gummy Bears. Whichever you prefer. Original German was gummibär, so that probably originated the gummi bears.
I did this experiment in my youth. So don't blame the current me for the brash and questionable nature of this idea. You've been warned!
If you search online for World's Largest Gummi Bear, you get a link to Vat19.com offering a measly 1/2 lb gummi and their 'World's Largest' at 5 lbs. They also claim "there is no candy more magnificent or more powerful". Well unfortunately for them I made an even bigger gummi sculpture (at 6lbs though not a bear) 7 years ago!
Gummi=Gummy. Haribo calls them Gold Bears. Black forest calls them Gummy Bears. Whichever you prefer. Original German was gummibär, so that probably originated the gummi bears.
I did this experiment in my youth. So don't blame the current me for the brash and questionable nature of this idea. You've been warned!
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6lb bags of Brach's Gummi bears used to be available from costco. I can't confirm anymore whether this is the case, but let's admit it Amazon is probably the best place to go. A brief cursory search revealed:
The cheapest 5lb or 6lb bag was from Brach's at 6lbs for $11.50.
http://amzn.to/cBsPCg
The lowest $/lb ratio for gummi bears was from Albanese at $1.70/lb (10lb for $17) :
http://amzn.to/aPgICd
And going for only top quality from Haribo reveals this gem of a deal 12 lbs for $34.
http://amzn.to/cBsPCg
This should provide plenty. For the Brach's there were 5 colors and for the Haribo and Albanese there appear to many more. So if you want a solid colored gummi monster look for places where you can either buy a bunch of one color or you'll have to buy many many pounds of this stuff.
How I came into 6 lbs of gummi bears was a funny story. After finding they sold such a delightful item at costco, I off-handedly mentioned they should be the token prize at a prize raffle for our highschool band end-of-the-year party. Because of my fortunate luck, I actually won said raffle.
Be creative when choosing a mold. I just got a cheap cake mold from the 99¢ store or something like that. I wanted to do both sides, but it turns out that would've required twice as much and I didn't want liquid gummi seeping through the seems of the mold.
The cheapest 5lb or 6lb bag was from Brach's at 6lbs for $11.50.
http://amzn.to/cBsPCg
The lowest $/lb ratio for gummi bears was from Albanese at $1.70/lb (10lb for $17) :
http://amzn.to/aPgICd
And going for only top quality from Haribo reveals this gem of a deal 12 lbs for $34.
http://amzn.to/cBsPCg
This should provide plenty. For the Brach's there were 5 colors and for the Haribo and Albanese there appear to many more. So if you want a solid colored gummi monster look for places where you can either buy a bunch of one color or you'll have to buy many many pounds of this stuff.
How I came into 6 lbs of gummi bears was a funny story. After finding they sold such a delightful item at costco, I off-handedly mentioned they should be the token prize at a prize raffle for our highschool band end-of-the-year party. Because of my fortunate luck, I actually won said raffle.
Be creative when choosing a mold. I just got a cheap cake mold from the 99¢ store or something like that. I wanted to do both sides, but it turns out that would've required twice as much and I didn't want liquid gummi seeping through the seems of the mold.
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I What I've learned is that you just can't use plastic chocolate molds. Not small ones anyway. Next time, I'll find silicone molds. Unfortunately, I was doing these for a camping trip this weekend. Guess it'll have to be chocolate instead.
Already, planning space invader ones next time I try though!
1. I sprayed the pot I was using. I think the oil changed the consistency just enough to keep it from totally setting. Didn't make much difference for the pot, it stuck to the pot anyway...
2. The molds I was using were on the smaller side.
3. They had smaller, rougher textures to the designs. So the gummy probably stuck into that a bit more. The plastic is probably porous too, making them stick worse.
Definitely stick with silicone or rubber, something non-porous or stretchy enough that you can freeze the gummy, then you can peel the mold off of it if you need to.
I tested this with cheap dollar store gummy bears and peach rings. Both melted very easily and at a very low temp. The cost was considerably cheaper too, you can get a 9oz bag of gummy bears for $1 at most Dollar Trees. So that's a little over 5.6 lbs for $10. Really cost effective if you've got a dollar store nearby.
Or, you could coat it in corn starch. I don't personally like the color the corn starch gives it, but it's a better anti-stick agent since it's dry. The oil makes it a bit slippery, but you keep the color of the gummy better.
Still, great i'ble - I might have to try this!