There are 9 things I didn’t know about gummy bears as I found out from our friends at msn.com. But I love the darn things. Got introduced to them while living in Germany as a toddler during the late 1950s. My dad would occasionally bring some home for my brother and me. And more than a half-century later I still will grab some when I have the craving.
9 Things You Didn’t Know about Gummy Bears
Gummy Bears were invented in early 1920s Germany by Hans Riegel, a confectioner from Bonn, who two years prior had started the Haribo candy company. Today, they’re made from a mixture of sugar, glucose syrup, starch, flavoring, food colouring, citric acid, and gelatin; nobody ever said that they’re healthy (they’re essentially just empty calories), and because they’re so sticky, they may cause tooth decay. But as with any candy, moderation is best.
Okay without further blather, here are 9 things you didn’t know about Gummy Bears:
Hans Riegel, creator of the Gummy Bear
1. Their Name Was Derived From the Original Main Ingredient: The “gummy” in gummy bear comes from the original thickener used by Riegel, gum arabic (the resin of an acacia tree). He call the product Gummibaren, and the name stuck.
2. Their Popularity Sparked the Gummy Boom: All the gummy products you see today, from worms to frogs, cherries and other fruit, sharks, and even hamburgers, were inspired by the success of the original gummy bear.
3. Haribo and Trolli Are the Largest Producers: In the United States, Haribo gummy bears come in five flavors: raspberry (red); orange (orange); strawberry (green); pineapple (colourless); and lemon (yellow).
Trolli’s gummy bears are sold in the same colours, but their red is strawberry-flavored, green is lime, and colourless is grape.
4. They’re Made in a Machine Called a Starch Mogul:To produce gummy bears, the design is carved into plaster by an artist, then duplicated in a tray filled with cornstarch called a starch mogul (the shape of the gummy is stamped into the starch first).
5. Halal Gummy Bears Are Produced in Turkey: Haribo uses animal-derived gelatin to make its gummy products, so in areas where pork can’t be eaten they need to be made with bovine gelatin.
6. Healthy Gummy Bears Can Definitely Fool Your Kids or Grandkids: Today, some gummy bears come in the form of multivitamins, some contain vitamin C, and some contain the wood sugar xylitol, which fights cavities.
7. In England, Jelly Babies Are More Popular: In the U.K., you’ll find gummy bears’ British equivalent, called jelly babies.
8. Disney CEO Michael Eisner Had the Idea for the Animated SeriesL From 1985 to 1991, Disney’s “Adventures of the Gummi Bears” aired on NBC and later ABC, and was later rebroadcast as part of the syndicated Disney Afternoon block through the 1990s.
9. The Series Was a Lot More Groundbreaking Than You Think: “Gummi Bears” was the very first animated TV show by Walt Disney Animation Television, and is widely regarded as having jump-started the TV animation boom of the late 1980s and ‘90s.
You can read the full post here. Let us know if you had any other childhood favorite candies. Chick-O-Stick? Milk Duds? Red Hots? Share your favorites with us below.
Live well.
2 Comments
I spent two weeks working in Germany last year and each evening I would return to the hotel and there would be Haribo gummy bears on my pillow. These were ostensibly vitamin gummy bears, but their texture and taste seemed the same. Not sure if there was much vitamin supplement in them, but they were fun anyway. This happened both in the large hotel in Cologne and the small hotel in Munich. Thanks for the post, now I know a bit more about these candies. My preferences: Red Hots, Raisinettes, and Milk Duds (of course).
All good choices there Mike…I’ve also been partial to red vines for a long time