I used the magnifying glass and I didn’t see anything about this topic so I figured I would ask the community.
I, like many of you, am making medicated gummies, and having plenty of fun doing so.
We all have our own recipes, and that’s great, but I think we are all using the flavored gelatin that is available in the stores from brands like Jolly Rancher, Starburst, Skittles, Sonic, Welch’s, etc.
Why shouldn’t we (the people) be able to create our own flavored blends of gelatin?
Surely, we can. We just have to figure out what method the big brands are using to flavor their gelatin, and then we could create unique flavors for ourselves.
I assume that this information is already figured out by somebody, but my attempts at googling have not yielded me great results.
Obviously when we add flavor to something like distillate, we use liquid terpenes, but that wouldn’t work correctly for flavoring a gelatin product.
My assumption would be that these brands have some way of trapping liquid terpenes in a crystalline structure so that it will be a dry ingredient when added to gelatin, however, I could be wrong in that assumption.
If my assumption is not wrong, then I am trying to figure out which compound I should be using to try to crystallize the flavors. If my assumption is wrong, then I’m hoping someone here can help lead me in the right direction.
I am motivated by the idea of Crème Brûlée gummies, Hibiscus gummies, Oreo gummies, Vanilla gummies, the list could go on forever.
My background is entirely in cannabis, and I don’t have a ton of knowledge about food products, so I apologize if anything I said in this post sounds uneducated. But I believe that this is worthy of being pursued as an idea.
Lots of folks have switched over to a pectin-based gummy because it can be marketed as a vegan product, which makes the product available to a wider audience.
I’m assuming you are looking at the flavored Jello packets? If so I think you might be overthinking how the flavoring is added in. My guess is that the flavoring is mixed in with sugar and water, dehydrated to remove the water, then mixed and milled with gelatin, food coloring, and preservative for the even color and consistency.
In either case there are a few good gummy recipes on here that are worth checking out and trying for yourself. There are many natural and artificial flavors to try and combine, it’s all a matter of what you like and prefer. Have fun!
Usually when you say things I think hmmm, I mostly agree. But then you said this. And it was tangled up in negative expressive language.
While also acting as though huge operators all over this fucking country and in the EU and Canada are not using large batch manufactured flavored gelatin and pectin mixes to make their stuff. Fuck man - there are ENTIRE supporting vendors that make big dumpers of pre-manufactured gelatin flavors that people put in huge hoppers (like 100,000+ at a time, maybe even a million…) and make this stuff.
I feel like the giant thread you supplied doesn’t really cover flavor profiles and how to make your own and changes. Almost everyone (who talks in that thread…about what they do…) is still using flavor houses (by far the easiest route) to make their stuff.
If @bhossyextracts wants to think about making their own flavors and figure out what the big brands are doing (basically using the flavor houses…) telling someone to go read a fuckton of posts that are NOT ABOUT THIS… seems unlike you.
I mean - I get not giving someone a spoon. Or like being a jerk and stuff. But telling someone that post will have the answer, when clearly it does not. Maybe its a new kind of passive aggressive that I just don’t expect from your normal curt and direct responses.
In any case - yes there are ways to make your own flavored gelatins. It depends on the size of your batch. Yes you can get them delivered to your down in big drums instead of tiny boxes. You could become a flavor house (which I doubt you want to be) and start from the basics. Or you could work with a flavor house to do this.
There are many out there. One that actively works with and courts the cannabis industry is Jogue. They have a fuckton you can select form if you want and they will make you a specialized one just for you if you ask.
They do some of the largest non-cannabis brands in the world AND they work with cannabis companies too. Beverage, gummies, baked goods, flavored tablets (mints/etc.) There customer service is usually pretty good…and their pricing is crazy. mostly because the SIZE you need to be to actually want to make you own stuff up and afford to do so is pretty fucking big. But lucky for you, most flavor houses have sample programs - and you can do your own blends.
I’m rather partial to Lorann’s for flavors… but that’s because I’ve got old school taste buds and I’m happy when something tastes like what I remember from the 90’s.
You don’t have to use flavored gelatin when you use flavor additives and colorants. But you do have to know the other stuff from what @Killa12345 said - those recipes talk through things like appropriate ratios of gelatin and sugar and water. They talk about different levels of bloom.
And they also go into some pretty good detail (with links to books and stuff) about different kinds of things to make gummies beyond gelatin and pectin.
I’m not sure why you would want to do this:
But yes there are methods for making agglomerates and then incorporating those into something. But why you would need to make something dry just to make it wet again, eludes me. -shrug- To each his own. Don’t try to crystallize flavors - the only time I wanted to do that was when I needed to ship them somewhere (so they weighed less) or when I was putting them into mixes for sale (which it doesn’t sound like you are doing…) or when I was putting them into tablets (because it was easier to ribbon blend things than use a fluid bed dryer…) but it doesn’t sound like you are doing any of that.
So using LIQUID flavorings and colors should work just fine for you most likely.
For your options… Jogue has a creme brulee… and a chocolate creme cookie (aka oreo) and hibicus. They also have vanilla… Lorann’s has vanilla… and you could always just… you know… use vanilla or hibiscus extracts.
Wow! How exciting it must be to be learning about all these sister industries from the lens of cannabis only! I came from pharma and food and petrol… classically trained organic chemist. There is so much that our sister industries can teach us for sure!
And yeah - probably you’ll have to do a lot more reading here… and a lot more reading on the links and the books to get where you are going. But even silly uneducated questions have merit.
And we’re glad you’re here.
Let us know what you decide to do. Add to the giant thread about gummy recipes. Talk about different flavors you like and don’t like. And remember there’s so much more to a gummy than flavor - mouth feel, shelf stability, form/shape, calories, potency, etc.
Enjoy the adventure and take us along for the ride! <3
I assume most companies would buy their flavoring and add it into the mix and not actually use flavored gelatin. . Usually the type is under lock and key since that makes your gummy unique. We were using delosi flavoring. I found a bunch of tasty flavors and will prob stick to that brand for my recipes at home. The hard part is finding bulk flavoring. There’s a few businesses on here that can help.
This comment was insanely helpful, thank you for your elaborate response.
For clarification, I am already making gummies that are a fantastic consistency and I was just looking for ideas on how I can make my own flavors.
I don’t want to become a flavor house, but I DEFINITELY want to work with one, and I wasn’t aware that the term “flavor house” existed because I don’t have a lot of comprehensive knowledge of the food industry.
It sounds like contacting a flavor house is probably my solution and I thank you for pointing me in the right direction.
I will absolutely keep the community updated on any progression I make. I’ve been here since 2018 I just haven’t posted much but I have always loved the community here and done tons of reading.
When I first started making edibles at home, I had a bunch of leftover food grade flavoring from when I used to vape nicotine and make my own juice. So now I use the same food grade flavorings in my treats. I have always liked Flavourart the most. I think they make some pretty stellar flavors. No flavor house is going to have all amazing flavors but flavourart has had the most good ones out of all the brands I have tried.
