All Natural Homemade Pomegranate Gumdrops are made with healthy fruit juice ~ this is an easy project to do with kids, and homemade candy makes a fabulous gift!
Is there anything more holidayish than a gumdrop? Ok, maybe a sugar plum, but that’s about it. Gumdrops are an old world style candy, and that’s what I love about them. With their glowing stained glass jelly insides and their glistening sugar coating they kind of symbolize the wonder of candy itself. They’re like little snow covered gems, and it’s pretty magical to see them come together. Why not switch it up this year and make these in place of one batch of cookies?
Traditional gumdrops are made with gum arabic or gelatin, plus sugar, flavoring and coloring. Originally they were called spice drops, and they were flavored with real spice and herb extracts like spearmint, peppermint, clove, allspice, anise and cinnamon. But nowadays you’re more likely to find artificial colors and flavors. I like my flavors to come from something other than a bottle…like, say, a pomegranate. So I wondered if I could make a classic gumdrop with pomegranate juice, sugar, and gelatin. Guess what? I did! And you can too!
That’s the gelatin softening on top of the juice, above, isn’t that wild? This is a fun little frivolous project for the season, and doesn’t take much time, especially if you boil the juice, sugar and gelatin the night before, and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. The next day you get to do all the fun stuff.
You turn the pan of jellied candy out onto a sugar coated surface…
Slice it into 1/2″ slices…
And slice the slices into little cubes. Then coat all the surfaces in sugar, but not before you admire the glossy reddish purple of your pomegranate jelly.
Did you ever think you’d be making gumdrops??
If you like this idea, think about other natural fruit bases you could use, like grape, orange, or grapefruit juice. Or use water with NATURAL FLAVORINGS and NATURAL FOOD COLOR. I should note that these turn out softer than store bought gumdrops. The texture is like a fruit jelly candy. But I like that better. The flavor of these is mild, too, especially if you’re used to all the artificially boosted flavors of today’s candy. You may want to use a little NATURAL POMEGRANATE FLAVORING to enhance it. If you want a tangier flavor, you may want to add some lemon juice to the recipe.
Are you starting to get into the holiday spirit?
All Natural Pomegranate Gum Drops
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp 4 envelopes unflavored gelatin (for vegetarian options, see note below)
- 3/4 cup and 1 1/8 cup of pomegranate juice, measured separately (I used Pom pomegranate juice)
- 3 cups granulated sugar, plus more for coating the candy
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 inch pan with plastic wrap. Spray the wrap with cooking spray.
- Put the 3/4 cup of pomegranate juice in a saucepan. Sprinkle it with the gelatin and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Bring the remaining 1 1/8 cup juice to a boil in a different saucepan, and then add it to the the juice and gelatin mixture, stirring to dissolve the gelatin.
- Add the sugar to the pan and stir to combine. Bring the mixture up to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer (keep it gently bubbling) for about 20-25 minutes. Stir almost constantly.
- Pour the mixture into the plastic lined pan. let cool slightly, then cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours, or overnight.
- Coat a surface with sugar and then gently lift the cold jelly out of the pan, using the plastic wrap to hold it. Turn it over onto the sugar. Coat the top with sugar.
- Slice the jelly into approximately 1/2 inch strips, and then into 1/2 inch cubes. I sprayed my knife with cooking spray at first, but then the buildup of sugar on the knife actually helps it not stick. Gelatin is very forgiving and flexible, so just slice right through and pull it apart. It will spring back into shape.
- Coat all surfaces of the candy with granulated sugar and let air dry for several hours. Then you can package them for gifts, or eat them up.
Notes
If you want to make a sour gummy candy, mix the sugar for the coating with some CITRIC ACID.
This recipe was inspired by Our Best Bites
Can I use sucralose instead of sugar. I might have missed a reply to that comment but I’m trying to find treats to eat that are sugar free. What would be the recommended ingredient amendment to do so please.
I can’t say for sure since I haven’t tried these with a sugar substitute, Kim, sorry!
Okay, these look beautiful and I believe they set properly,
but the taste and smell are terrible!
I’m not sure what I did wrong…….never attempted anything like this before!
Could it be the Knox gelatin I used?
Apparently everyone else thinks they taste great!
haha
Is it possible to make a green-colored version of this with mint and green food coloring? I want to make these for Christmas this year and I am considering my options.
You could do this with a sweetened syrup flavored with mint and colored green, Lizzie.
Thank you!
I simmered the syrup for 22 minutes and checked the temperature on a candy thermometer. It was at 225 degrees, which is soft ball stage, so I took it off the heat right then. Some people mentioned the candy being soft and chewy. If you let the candy air dry overnight before sugaring it, and then let the sugared candy stay out in the air for a day or two, a more gumdrop-like “crust” occurs. Very nice!
Thanks Lynne!
Sue, just checking to find out if pouring the bubbling hot mixture on top of plastic wrap wouldn’t melt the plastic? I guess not since no one has commented that it does. My mouth is watering to try this!
I just made this today. It melted a hole the plastic wrap for me! =[ I had to remove it and just have it in the pan. Hopefully I can get it out!
Is there any way you could make the candy a little lighter?
In color
Not sure, I guess you could dilute the juice, and that would lighten the color, but also the flavor.
I made a number of batches of these but as I made them I developed the recipe a bit, which I think improved it a bit. I used organic juices that I found at my local Wegmans. Wild Blueberry and Tart Cherry. I wanted a fuller flavor so used 2 cups in the pot heated to boil reduced the juice to 1 cup than added 2 cups of organic sugar. I still used 3/4 cup of juice and 3 TBS of unflavored gelatin. I did not simmer them for long after adding the gelatin to the reduced juice. My organic sugar was larger crystals so I broke them in the food processor for a minute.
Tasty and a fresh gift for my friends.
Barb
Hi:
I did try this recipe, but substituted cranberry juice for the pomegranate juice. Otherwise, I followed your recipe exactly as you directed, but the mixture did not get firm at all, and I was very disappointed. Is there a reason cranberry juice can’t be used?
Hi MK, the cranberry juice should work. They would be like a concentrated form of cranberry jelly. I hope you give it another try, but remember, they won’t be as firm or chewy as a store bought gumdrop, they have a softer, more jellied texture. Good luck!
Just wondering… Is there a way you could make some type of ginger version of this? Like for nausea? I bet it would be good 🙂
Great idea, kind of like gummy lozenge. I would just substitute the pomegranate juice for a ginger infusion…I’ll work on that Amelia. You might also like my diy hibiscus cough drops (https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/2014/02/diy-hibiscus-and-lemon-cough-dropsdiy-hibiscus-lemon-cough-drops.html) or my Turmeric Tea (https://theviewfromgreatisland.com/2014/02/turmeric-tea.html)
What a great idea!! I have a huge bottle (Costco sized) of Pom in my fridge…now to see if I have enough gelatin! Yum!!
Pomegranate, persimmon, ginger and honey, jelly, a infusion of great seasonal fruit.