Candies, gummies, lollipops, gum, clouds … The sweets that delight both children and adults represent an annual expense of almost 600 million euros for Spaniards.
And his recipe has no apparent mystery. They are made up of about 50% sugars and glucose syrups , extracted from beets, coconut, palm or cane. When it comes to jelly beans and the like, the texture is provided mainly by gelatin , which is obtained from collagen present in animal tissue, although it is also common to use pectin , a gelling agent produced from fruit, especially apples and citrus.
In order for the gummies to come out of the molds without losing their shape and preserving all their shine, fats and beeswax are used. And the egg whites and milk proteins make it possible to make white treats like the popular marshmallows. Manufacturers also often resort to acids – ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and malic acid – to enhance the flavor and give stability to sweets, which, although they do not provide nutrients, are not harmful if they are not abused .
To dye them, producers are increasingly turning to natural dyes, such as orange bixin , which comes from the seeds of a tropical tree. They get the lipstick from an insect, the cochineal; violets and purples are extracted from anthocyanins , pigments found in grapes, gooseberries and blueberries. And green is provided by chlorophyll . When it comes to flavors, the latest trend is spicy sweets. Some manufacturers start to incorporate ginger, and others even dare with chili.
