Sour Grapple Mini Gummy Bears
For the first recipe, I figured I would go with my Mini Gummy Bears. This is a combination of 3 different recipes I found on the internet. Here is my take on it.
Ingredients
- 250 Bloom Gelatin Sheets - 35 grams
- White Sugar - 123 grams
- Sorbitol Powder - 12 grams
- Glucose Syrup - 123 grams
- Citric Acid - 5.5 grams (optional)
- 4ml of concentrated flavoring
- 2ml Apple extract
- 2ml Grape extract
- Coconut Oil or MCT Oil
- THC Oil
This recipe makes roughly 165 mini gummy bears.
Tips and Warnings
- Wear gloves that will protect your hands from heat when you get to the point where you fill the mold. The mixture needs to be hot so that it will go into the mold. After holding whatever you are going to use to dispense the mixture for a while, you'll start to feel the heat.
- If you are using a plastic bottle to dispense the mixture, make sure the top stays on secure. The heat inside the bottle will create pressure, as well as make the plastic more flexible. I've had the top pop off mid pour, and spill the goodies everywhere.
Gummy Molds
There are many different "gummy mold" sizes and shapes. Even when you look at just gummy bear molds, there are a few different sizes. This recipe is based on the mini gummy mold. These gummy bears are roughly 0.7" tall. An official gummy bear is roughly 0.8" tall. If you search your online retailer of choice, you'll find gummy bear molds that make gummies in larger sizes, 1" long and up to 6" tall. See the link below for the specific molds I used. If you want the larger sized ones, look around and you'll find there are many.
I happen to like the small size of the mini gummies the smaller mold makes. You see, I'd rather have 3 or 4 small treats to equal my total dose, rather than have 1 big gummy with the entire dose of THC in it. More flavor and fun in eating 3 or 4 for a snack… Opinions vary!
THC Dosing
Follow one of the two dosing methods explained in the second reply to this thread.
Carrier Oil Selection
When I talk about oils, I am talking about "carrier oils". That is, the oil that you are going to infuse your THC extract into, so that it will emulsify and mix in with your recipe. In this case, the recipe is gummy bears, so we'll go with a Coconut Oil as our carrier oil that will bond with the THC and carry it into our blood streams. Its more complicated than that, I know, but I won't go that deep here.
I won't go into great detail. However, I figured I would add this important fact. When inhaling cannabis, or anything really, the compound you are inhaling hits your lungs and then immediately enters the blood stream and circulates. When you eat a compound, it needs to go through your liver before it hits your blood stream. Your liver is basically a filter. So, you'll get a different buzz, but it will also take longer to achieve that buzz, up to and hour.
Why is this important? Different carrier oils move through the liver more efficiently. In the reading I have done to date, medium-chain triglyceride oils seem to be the most efficient. For this recipe, I am using Coconut based MCT (medium-chain triglycerides).
That all being said, you should be able to use other types of carrier oils. I have only used Coconut Oil, which was solid at room temperature, and then the MCT Oil.
Now that we have all that down….
Lets Go!
Bloom Gelatin
- Gelatin Sheets - 35 grams, or ~21 sheets
- Water in a Bowl
Roll gelatin sheets up together so that you can put them in the large cup or bowl you'll be blooming in. The container should be as deep as the sheets are wide. Fill the container with cold water so that it fills enough to cover the gelatin sheets. Set container off the to the side and allow the sheets to fully bloom.
Prepare THC Oil
- Coconut Oil or MCT oil at a 1 to 1 ratio to your THC Oil. If you have 1 gram of THC oil, use 1 gram of Coconut or MCT oil.
Warm Coconut or MCT oil in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time. You want it hot, but not bubbling or boiling. If using a syringe, place it in a cup of hot water with the cap on the syringe. Once the THC oil is thin enough to squeeze out of the syringe, mix the two oils together, at a 1:1 ratio. Stir well. Otherwise if you are using shatter, rosin or another extract, make sure it melts in with the Coconut/MCT Oil.
Once the two oils are mixed together, set aside.
Make Sugar Base
- Sugar - 113g
- Sorbitol Powder - 12 grams
- Glucose Syrup - 123 grams
Put the above ingredients together in a pot and set heat to low to medium. Make sure the sugar breaks down and becomes smooth, with no granules. Be careful not to overheat the sugar. Go slow. Once the mix is nice and smooth, remove from heat.
Add Gelatin
- Gelatin Sheets - 35 grams, roughly 21 sheets of quality gelatin sheets
Take the gelatin sheets out of the water. Squeeze/ring all of the water out of the sheets. Place them into the Sugar Base one at a time. The residual heat will help will melt the gelatin. Slowly stir the mix until the gelatin incorporates. Make sure you stir gently and slowly. You don't want to create any air bubbles, as this will effect the visual appeal of the gummies.
Add THC and Carrier Oil
Now that the Gelatin and Sugar base are mixed together, mix in your THC and Carrier oils. Mix well, but very slowly. Again, air bubbles will create issues later on. Once mixed, transfer the mixture to a large metal or glass bowl.
Add Flavoring
- Concentrated flavoring oil, pick your flavor. I use LorAnn Super Concentrate Oils.
- Citric Acid (Optional)
The Citric Acid is optional. Adding it will give the gummy bears a classic "sour" taste. If you want the straight up flavor, without that sour punch, you can skip the citric acid. I would skip it the first time, add it the second time you make this recipe.
Flavoring oils come in different types. There are the concentrated oils, and then the normal oils. For example, the LorAnn line of oils are concentrated. So, when you see a recipe that includes oil, you'll use half as much, and then adjust until you have the proper flavor. Also, lemon flavoring is much more potent than the others, so use less of it.
Since I am using LorAnn Oils, I add 4 drops to this recipe. If I were using a brand that was not concentrated, I'd probably use 6-8 drops of flavoring. Its up to you. Just be aware that concentrated oils exist.
If you have elected to add the citric acid to get that sour zing, now is the time to add it.
Fill Gummy Mold
- Food safe squeeze bottle
- Heat gloves (gloves you can wear that will withstand the heat of the hot liquid in the plastic bottle.
- Gummy Molds
This recipe assumes you are using food safe plastic squeeze bottles. There are other ways to fill the mold. You can use the droppers that come with the molds, or you can use a professional plastic bag used to ice cakes. I like the squeeze bottles, because they are easier to handle, and I feel I have more control of how fast the liquid comes out.
Fill your dispenser of choice with the final mix. Do so slowly, to avoid air bubbles. Once you have an adequate amount of mix, begin pouring into the molds, very slowly. You want to fill the molds so that each gummy hole is just about filled, but not over filled. You also want to make sure that you fill it completely, and don't underfill. This is important, because you want each gummy to be roughly the same weight, so that you get a consistent dose.
Once you have all of the holes filled with mix, place the molds in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Drying and General Stickiness
Once the molds have set in the refrigerator, the next step is to dry the gummies out. If you simply pop them all out of the mold and put them into a container, they will stick together and become a mess. Allowing them to sit out to dry will stop this from occurring.
After popping the gummies out of the mold, stand each gummy bear up so that they are all sitting down. Leave enough space between them so that you can easily knock them onto their backs later on. Let them sit for 12 hours in a dry place. After 12 hour have passed, knock each gummy over so that it is laying on its back, and then let sit out for another 6 hours.
Once the drying process is complete, place the gummies in an air tight container, and put in the refrigerator for storage.
Thats it!
Any questions or suggestions, please feel free to let me know.
