How do you get a dry surface on gummie candies?

I made this recipe for sour gummies:

Gummies

2 C / 473ml fruit juice (I used apple)

2.5 C / 600ml water, divided

4.5 tsp citric acid

6.6 oz / 187g gelatin

22.4 oz / 625g sugar

Coating

6 T sugar

3.5 tsp citric acid

[I'm skipping the actual cooking of the candy, which is not relevant to my question, and going straight to the final step.]

Toss the pieces in the sugar-citric acid mixture and place on the cooling rack.

Let the coated candies dry for 8 hours on the cooling rack until the coating is hard and crunchy.

The coating did not in fact become hard and crunchy: it became slimy and sticky. The only remedy I could think of was to toss the candies in corn starch. That worked (the candies aren't crunchy, but they're also not slimy, which is what really matters), but I'm wondering whether I should have done something differently the first time around. Is there a better way to make gummies with a dry surface (that's practical for a home cook)?

candy gelatin

Best Answer

Looks like I was on the right track with the corn starch: the secret seems to be two coatings (powdered sugar + cornstarch, then granulated sugar + citric acid). Details here.

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Quick Answer about "How do you get a dry surface on gummie candies?"

Toss the pieces in the sugar-citric acid mixture and place on the cooling rack. Let the coated candies dry for 8 hours on the cooling rack until the coating is hard and crunchy.

How do you get moisture out of gummy bears?

If the gummy appears to be too hard, soften them by re-hydrating in a bowl of hot or warm water (not cold water) until the desired consistency is achieved, usually around 20 minutes.

What is the best way to dry gummies?

Make each bear stand upright and leave for 48 hours. After 48 hours, lay each bear on their backs and leave for another 24 hours. This process will shrink the gummies a bit and will help dry them out. This is crucial in making the gummy bears as chewy as the store bought ones.

How do you make gummy bears not sticky?

The main ingredient that makes the gummy bear candy to be wet and sticky is citric acid. Citric acid is a water-soluble ingredient that will pull moisture out of the gummy bears thus making them to melt. This is the reason why gummy bear candy usually becomes wet and sticky during the sugar-coating procedure.

How To Preserve Homemade Gummy Bears

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