How Gummies Get Their Chew

A gummy is mostly sugar and syrup. What turns that into something you can chew is the gelling agent, and the choice of gelling agent is a big part of why one gummy is bouncy and another is soft.

Gummy bears started in Bonn, Germany, in 1922, when Hans Riegel made fruit gums shaped like dancing bears. His company's name, Haribo, comes from Hans Riegel Bonn.

Gummy worms came much later. Trolli, another German candy maker, introduced them in 1981.

• Gelatin gives the classic bounce and stretch. It's made from collagen, a protein from animals, and gelatin gels melt at close to body temperature, which is why a gummy softens as you chew.
• Pectin comes from fruit, mostly citrus peel and apples. It's the same thing that sets jam.
• Starch, usually from corn, can set a gummy too, and gives a softer, more tender chew.

Plenty of gummies use more than one. The ingredient list tells you which.

Most gummies are shaped in trays of cornstarch. A machine called a starch mogul presses rows of shapes into the starch, fills each dent with hot, runny candy and sends the trays off to set. The starch soaks up some moisture while the candy firms. Then the gummies are shaken out and the starch is sifted and used again.

It's the reason gummies can come in almost any shape: all it takes is a new stamp for the starch.

Once you have a gummy, there are plenty of ways to play with it.

• Runny centres. Gushers, first sold in 1991, wrap a soft fruit shell around a liquid middle. Welch's Fusions go for the same two-in-one idea.
• Foam. Foam candy is whipped with air before it sets, so it's light and squishy. The Warheads Sour Clouds bag calls itself Swedish-style foam gummies.
• Chocolate. Muddy Bears are gummy bears covered in milk chocolate.
• Peel. Fruitips have a chewy outside you can peel away from a softer middle.
• Sour sugar. The eFrutti apple rings get a sparkly coat of sugar and fruit acid.