They can be expensive depending on the model. Mettler toledo is a huge brand and so is rototronic and aqua labs. You want your water activity to be less than 0.65 for safety reasons but for shelf life purposes (to help with this sweating issue) its best around 0.55 or lower. whoever you buy from can give you best practices for using the aW meter and it will likely be in the instructions that come with it - but basically you want to get your sample into a sample cup and put the lid on right away. Then, if needed, make sure your samples are left out long enough to reach room temp before taking a reading (take the lid off of the sample cup before reading). water activity is widely used in food to make sure shelf stable products will be safe/not spoil throughout their shelf life.
Hello, I have read quite a few of your messages on this forum. I am a French chemist and I am working on a formula for pectin-based gummies. I really need the help.
I hope you could give me some advice. I’m really in a mess I don’t know how to get out of it.
I do artisanal production.
My formula: HAS) Pectin = 2%
Maltitol = 57%
Glucose syrup DE60 =20%
I mix pectin with 5 times its mass in maltitol.
I dissolve DE60 syrup with the rest of the maltitol.
I heat and add pectin + maltitol
B) Melatonin Thianine Triptophan CBD The whole thing is about 2%
C) Citric acid 0.8% 1:2
I add B) in phase A) before boiling. When I get 107.5 I stop heating I cooled the solution a little ~ to 90-100C And I add hibiscus then citric acid.
The problem is, I use syringes. It is painful. And the solution hardens I lose more than 1/3 of the final product.
I want to unmold it but it’s sticky so I have to use either starch or a little fat…
I did both, I feel like the starch accelerates the formation of the outer layer.
(I’m not sure about this theory) The fat (very little cocoa butter) I don’t know if it prevents drying.
After drying I use CAPOL carnoba solution And it’s oily In all my tests each time after 1-2 months the gummies become hard with an outer layer. It’s Crystals.
In the forum we talk about a stable critical temperature to increase the pouring time. But no one says what it is. I tried to pour directly on the molds but it doesn’t scratch and it’s ugly My molds are classic kitchen molds that I bought on Amazon 112 cavity. So I hope you could help me.
I wanted to stop the product but my customers insist I’m in incredible trouble and I have a production of more than 20kg to pour with syringes 
I want to kill myself.
Have you attempted the big pour and scrap model of filling? This is how I handle pectin stuff.
Better molds help with things.
There are depositors out there that will keep things at temperature, while filling.
There are products like mold release - similar to your starch and fat methods, for spraying molds to make it easier to get things out.
Why using syringes? There are handheld depositors which are much faster than a syringe - I use them for chocolates and all kinds of other things… They have plastic ones that I think are easier to clean, but I wanted to link you to something you could look at today.
Why are you coating the outside with something? You want a shiny finish?
When things are becoming hard over time - its often because the storage conditions are not great. There are many ways to package things to maintain humidity (keep dry or moist, whichever is needed).
There are so many other questions I have about your formulation - like why you are using both sugar and a sugar substitute - that seems so incredibly counter intuitive to me…
Plus the fuck putting extra chemicals in. You trying to make some weird sleep vitamin? Cause you could really harm someone that way - especially females and their unborn kiddos.
No one talks about it because its different for every pectin based on water content, Ph and what kind of pectin you’re using
Hm-100 from pacific pectin gels around 180f according to them which i have found is accurate.
Im not sure what pectin you are using but I’d try to contact the manufacturer and see if they can give you an idea. Hopefully youre using a slow set and not an HM pectin.
Sounds like you have thin molds which are not meant for flood and scrape, id invest into some thicker molds and you shouldnt have problems with then collapsing.
Ive never used maltitol so im not sure if it could be messing with your recipe, i would use more syrup though ive found 30-35% works best
I also dont mix my syrup with the sugar, i melt the pectin down then add the color, flavoring cannabinoid and sugar and mix it before I add the hot syrup.
How much water are you using in 1 batch? I use around 2 liters in ablut 9.5 kg of solution. Water content does effect kick time, if you cook out too much water you can definitely have kicking issues.
If your gummies are getting hard it sounds like youre not storing them properly. Vacuum seal bags work great. Ive had gummies that are still in perfect shape after 2 years when stored in vacuum sealed bags
You’ve identified the problem and the solution.
Stop using syringes. There are many forms and fashions of viscous liquid dispensing apparati that can replace these.
If you’re looking for something more automated, I used to use something like this when I was depositing warm gels for immunodiffusion plates
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=55574f6ac650f86f&sca_upv=1&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS925US925&hl=en-US&q=syringe+pump&udm=28&source=lnms&prmd=isvnmbtz&ved=1t:200715&ictx=111&biw=390&bih=669&dpr=3#vhid=vt%3D16/prds%3DheadlineOfferDocid:8791863179650001956,imageDocid:17780020180156463362,mno:3,productid:8791863179650001956,pvo:3,pvt:hg,query:c3lyaW5nZSBwdW1w,rds:,sori:0/vs%3D0&vssid=uvpv-713&ip=1&piu=ps:72
Mine was much less automated and new, but I could make like 600 5mL plates per minute using it.
Edit: I said to stop using syringes and provided a link for a syringe pump—there are many depositing systems that would also work.
Also the very cheapest option would be a repeater 50ML syringe used for immunizing livestock. Probably 40 euro max
I’d rather use something like this if I absolutely couldn’t do pour and scrape