Photo by Evie Fjord on Unsplash
Mushroom gummies have quickly been gaining popularity and for good cause! Gummies provide a quick and easy method of consumption even for those of you who do not enjoy the taste of mushrooms. In fact, they are quite pleasant and tasty to eat. Gummies make for an overall enjoyable experience eating mushrooms. You can choose which mushrooms you want to include in your recipe and customize it specifically to your needs. Lion’s mane? Sure. Reishi? Why not!
Aside from the taste, there are also functional benefits to learning how to make mushroom gummies. You can easily dose the gummies to your exact needs. You can store and transport them easily as well. Gummies are also a great way to introduce mushrooms to your wellness routine because they are tasty and easy to remember.
The mushrooms in your gummies can even be more effective than eating raw mushrooms due to a potentially increased bio-availability. This is just a fancy word to mean that your body absorbs the compounds in mushroom gummies better than if you eat raw mushrooms. When you dissolve mushroom powder in the warm juice and gently heat it, you preserve the sought-after compounds and spread them out so the body can absorb them better.
Now that you’ve been convinced that mushroom gummies are pretty great, let’s learn exactly how to make mushroom gummies at home. In the following sections we will cover the ingredients and equipment you need, a step-by-step guide, and discuss troubleshooting common issues you may come across when learning how to make mushroom gummies.
How to Make Mushroom Gummies Infographic Created by Mycology Men
To begin, lay out all your ingredients and equipment before you start the work. Once you heat up the gelatin, it will cool pretty quickly so you do not want to be scrambling to measure and add further ingredients.
Measure the juice, water, gelatin, mushroom powder, sweetener, and lemon juice. Lay out your mold and get the sauce pan and measuring cup ready.
Pour ¼ cup of cool water into a small bowl. Add in 3 tablespoons of unflavored gelatin. DO NOT STIR IT. Let it sit for 10 minutes. The gelatin will absorb the water and turn into a thick mass (bloomed gelatin). The key here is using cool water. Warm or hot liquid can cause the gelatin to clump.
While the gelatin blooms, add ½ cup of your fruit juice to the sauce pan. Now add 1-2 tablespoons of your sweetener (honey or maple syrup). Turn the stove burner onto low-medium heat. Too hot can cause issues so be conservative. Gently warm the mixture so the sweetener dissolves into the juice. You are aiming for how, but NOT BOILING juice. If you have a thermometer, aim for 150℉.
Reduce the heat on the stove burner to low. To your warm juice, whisk in your mushroom power and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. Keep on whisking until you have a smooth and evenly distributed mixture.
Take the bowl of bloomed gelatin and use a spoon to move the gelatin into the warm juice one spoon full at a time. Keep the heat on low and most importantly, WHISK CONTINUOUSLY.
The gelatin should fully dissolve into the warm juice mixture. This usually takes about 4 minutes of whisking. Be extremely careful not to let the mixture boil. This can degrade your mushrooms and even mess up your gummies down the line.
Place the silicone gummy mold onto a baking sheet. Use a dropper or small spoon to transfer the juice mixture from the sauce pan to the gummy mold. Be careful not to overfill each slot or you run the risk that the gummies will all be connected when you are done. When performed properly, you will have uniform gummies after they set.
Be extra careful not to work too slowly! If the juice mixture starts to thicken, it will be difficult to work with. If this does happen, you can reheat the juice mixture in the sauce pan on the stove with the burner set to low.
Transfer the baking sheet with the gummy mold to the refrigerator. It is best practice to carry the baking tray and not the mold itself since the mold is not rigid and you will most likely spill the juice.
The chilling process can take a couple hours. After about an hour, you can test the gummies by gently pressing on one inside the mold. It should be slightly firm, but have some spring to it.
You can most certainly let the gummies chill for longer and this will improve the texture. But, if you want to use them ASAP, just a couple hours of chilling should be enough.
Gently remove the gummies from the silicone mold and store them in an airtight container. They should be stored in the refrigerator and will last about 7-10 days. Label the container with the date and dose per gummy to avoid any mistaken consumption.
If you want to extend the shelf-life of your gummies, there are a few steps you can take. The main issue is that mold or bacteria can grow on the gummies due to their water content. To extend the shelf life, use powdered drink mix instead of juice. You can also add more sweetener and more acid as these can inhibit mold and bacteria growth.
Another practice you can use to extend the shelf-life of your gummies is to cook the mixture longer. While still avoiding boiling, heat the mixture up to 170℉ for 3 minutes to kill any residual microbes.
Finally, store them properly. Use a desiccant pack to extend shelf-life in a airtight container in the fridge to up to 4 weeks. Vacuum seal the gummies and keep them in the fridge to extend a few more weeks. You can even freeze the gummies to extend the shelf-life even further. Just be aware that freezing the gummies can soften the texture when you unfreeze them.
Experiment with different fruit juices or blends of juices to find a flavor that you enjoy most. You can also add in a bit of ginger juice or change the acid from lemon to lime or grapefruit.
You can make the gummies more firm or more soft by how much gelatin you use. Increasing the gelatin to 4 tablespoons will give your firmer gummies. Decreasing the amount of gelatin to 2.5 tablespoons will give you softer gummies.
Gummies that are too soft usually occur when not enough gelatin was used. It can also happen if the mixture was boiled, damaging the gelatin. In either case, you will just have to start over. Be sure to increase the amount of gelatin used and keep the heat on low to avoid boiling.
When the mushroom powder is not fully dissolved, the gummies can have a sandy texture. Be sure to whisk the mushroom powder in fully over low heat. Do not rush this step.
When the gummies are clear on top and cloudy on the bottom, this means the mixture separated before you chilled the gummies. Avoid this by not letting the mixture cool as you fill the gummy mold. It can also help to stir the mixture as you are filling the mold.
