Gummy bear: The candy inspired by German street festivals 

Have you ever had those chewable candies that are shaped like bears? Yes, we are talking about gummy bears here. Also called by several other nicknames such as gummy, gummy worm, gummy candy and gummy sweet, this confectionery is made of gelatine (edible jelly) and comes in the miniature shape of a toy bear. Gummy bears also come in different flavours, such as raspberry, orange, strawberry, pineapple and lemon. They are known for their sweet and addictive quality and are popular among people of all age, especially kids, as they are easy to swallow. 

But do you know when and how gummy bears emerged? Let us tell you all about it. 

Gummy bear: A combination of gum Arabic and real-life bear 
The sweet little chewable treat called gummy bear is thought to have been born in the 1980s. However, that’s not true. Originally, gummy bear emerged in 1922 in the hands of a German confectioner and entrepreneur Hans Riegel, who established a candy company named Haribo.  

Any guess how he came up with the idea of gummy bears? As it turns out, he was a regular at German street festivals, wherein he grew up seeing trained bears entertaining the audience, much like in a live roadside circus. But that wasn’t all. Incidentally, he also Riegel also came upon a gelatin-like edible substance called ‘gum Arabic’ that is derived from Sub-Saharan acacia trees, and was used in European food industry as a stabiliser in soda, liquorice, soft caramels and marshmallows. To cut a long story short, Riegel realised that gum Arabic can be used as a chewable candy and decided to give it the shape of a bear from the street fests.   

Bonus fact: Riegel’s company Haribo still continues to be the world’s topmost maker of gummy bears.  

Decoding the name 
You might be thinking that the name ‘gummy bear’ emerged out of ‘gum’ of gum Arabic and ‘bear’ from the real-life bears that inspired Riegel. While this sure is one of the most popular theories, here is an interesting anecdote for you: Riegel’s candy was actually called the ‘Dancing Bear.’ He even marketed it as ‘a small, affordable, fruit-flavoured gum candy treat for children and adults alike.’ In fact, he later brought it out in a larger form and named it the ‘Gold Bear’, but never for once ‘gummy bear.’  

So, how on earth did ‘gummy bear’ come into being? Well, it’s actually quite simple. In the German language, both Dancing Bear and Golden Bear were popularly called ‘Gummibar’ (gummy bear) and ‘Gummibarchen’ (little gummy bear). Over the years, these two words were changed into English to form ‘gummy bear.’  

The making of gummy bear 
The preparation of these sweet candies is try interesting. At first all the ingredients starting with dibble gelatine, water, sugar, glucose syrup, colouring, food flavourings (fruit juices and citric acid) are mixed together. Once they are blended, the liquid formed is cooked under heat. Gradually, it takes a thicker shape and turns into a ‘slurry.’ The slurry in turn is poured into bear-shaped moulds for shaping. These moulds are lined with cornstarch that prevents the candies from sticking to them. After the slurry is poured into the moulds, it is left for cooling for a duration of 24 hours. Following this, the gummies are removed from the moulds and placed in giant tumblers full of light food-grade oil that further absorbs any extra corn starch. This in turn makes the gummy bears soft, fresh, while the gelatine topping offers the chewy texture along with a long shelf life.  

Fun fact: Apart from gummy bears, today, companies also sell multivitamins in the shape of gummy bears to lure children.