Gummi bear

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For other uses, see Gummy (disambiguation).
HARIBO's Gold-bears were first introduced in the 1950s in Germany.
HARIBO's Gold-bears were first introduced in the 1950s in Germany.

A Gummi bear (sometimes spelled gummy bear) is a small, rubbery-textured confectionery, roughly two centimeters long, shaped in the form of a bear.

Contents

Variations

There are many types of gummies
There are many types of gummies

The success of Gummi Bears has spawned many gummi animals and objects: worms, frogs, hamburgers, cherries, cola bottles, sharks, hippos, lobsters, octopuses, apples, peaches, oranges, and even Ampelmännchen and Smurfs.

History

The Gummi Bear originates from Germany where it is hugely popular under the name Gummibär (help·info) (rubber bear) or Gummibärchen (help·info) (little rubber bear). The German company Haribo from Bonn first produced bear-shaped sweets in 1922 and introduced its "Gold-Bear" product in the 1960s. Trolli is another well-known gummi candy manufacturer and was the first to introduce gummi worms in 1981.

Ingredients

German Gummibärchen
German Gummibärchen

The traditional Gummi Bear is made from sugar, glucose syrup, starch, flavouring, food coloring, citric acid, and gelatin. There are also some types of Gummi Bears made with pectin or starch instead of gelatin, making them suitable for vegans.

Gummi bears made with either bovine or porcine gelatine are not suitable for vegetarians and do not conform to kashrut or halal dietary laws. Those made with bovine gelatine are not suitable for Hindus.

Large sour bears are larger and flatter than Gummi Bears, have a softer texture, and include fumaric acid or other acid ingredients to produce a sour flavor. Some manufacturers produce sour bears with a different texture, based on starch instead of gelatin. Typically, starch produces a shorter (cleaner bite, less chewy) texture than gelatin.[citation needed]

Health issues

Vending machine for kosher gummi bears at the cafeteria of the Jewish Museum Berlin.
Vending machine for kosher gummi bears at the cafeteria of the Jewish Museum Berlin.

Gummi bears ordinarily contain mostly empty calories, but recently gummi bears containing vitamin C, produced by manufacturers such as Bear Essentials,[1] are being marketed to parents of young children. Multivitamins have also been produced in the form of gummi bears to motivate consumption by young, picky eaters. Some children have mistaken gummi bear vitamins for authentic candy, eating large quantities at a time.[2]

Gummi bears, and other gummi candy, stick to teeth and may cause tooth decay.[3] However, gummi bears containing the cavity-fighting additive xylitol (wood sugar) are now being tested.[4]

There has been some concern that gelatin, a key ingredient in most gummi bears, may harbor prions. Prions are misshapen proteins that cause BSE / Mad Cow Disease in cattle and CJD in humans.[5] Based on studies, the United States FDA and various other national organizations and countries consider the risk of BSE transmission through gelatin to be minuscule as long as precautions are followed during the manufacturing process.[6][7][8][9][10]

Flavours

In the United States, Haribo gummi bears usually come in raspberry (red), orange, strawberry (green), and lemon (yellow), however, many offshoot companies (typically the vegan or health-related gummi bears) may change up the flavors to more exotic or in higher amounts.[clarify]

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ Family Dental, Family Dental Plan, Family Dental Insurance
  4. ^ Want To Fight Cavities? Eat Gummi Bears! | KOMO-TV - Seattle, Washington | News Archive
  5. ^ Gelatin production and Prion Theory
  6. ^ USDA Report
  7. ^ World Health Organization
  8. ^ FDA
  9. ^ Australian Government DHA
  10. ^ Asian Food Information center

External links

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