Ohh, look what I made yesterday;) Homemade gummies. These healthy orange gummies are super kid friendly, healthy and using all natural ingredients. Made with freshly squeezed orange juice, persimmon, turmeric, ginger and agar flakes.
A couple of notes on the recipe before we get started. If you don’t want to use orange juice you can use whatever juice you want. In this recipe I used one tablespoon of coconut sugar but you can leave it out. (totally up to you!) Although I purchased special candy molds to create fun shapes, don’t worry about not having cute little silicon molds. You can also use a small baking dish. Simply pour the mixture into a baking dish (very lightly greased with coconut oil), pulling out and cutting your gummies into bite sized pieces with knife or use cookie cutters for shapes… is easy-peasy. Quick, simple to make and a healthy substitute (without the high-fructose corn syrup, food coloring, nasty and harmful ingredients…) for store-bought gummy candies.
- 1+ ⅓ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 ripe persimmon, peeled
- 1 heaping tbsp coconut sugar
- ⅛ tsp turmeric powder
- ⅛ tsp ginger powder
- 1 heaping + ½ tbsp agar flakes
- Add all the ingredients (except agar flakes) to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. In a saucepan, combine the agar flakes with the juice mixture and bring to a boil. Stir constantly to prevent sticking. Lower the heat and stir for about 5 to 10 minutes. It will turn into a thick paste. Remove from heat. Pour mixture into silicon molds. Refrigerate until firm. Store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Agar is the perfect substitute to traditional gelatin. It’s made from a plant source. That makes it suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets. Agar has no calories, no carbs, no sugar, not fat and is loaded with fiber. It’s free from starch, soy, corn, gluten, yeast, wheat, milk, egg and preservatives. Agar has no taste and no color, which makes it pretty convenient to use. It sets more firmly than gelatin, and stays firm even when the temperature heats up. Though agar is a great substitute to gelatin, don’t expect the same results when replacing gelatin with agar in a recipe. First, it doesn’t give the same texture. Gelatin can give a creamy texture whereas agar gives a firmer texture. The most important thing to know is that agar needs to be first dissolved in water and then brought to a boil. It will set as the ingredients cool down. You can’t add agar flakes or powder as it is in your food. You should definitively follow the package directions and the recipe to determine which quantity to use.
But here is a basic rule you can adapt, use 1 tablespoon agar flakes to thicken 1 cup of liquid, and 1 teaspoon agar powder to thicken 1 cup of liquid.
Gummy time!
