Kombucha Gummies
In my book, Simply Living Well, I shared my favorite recipe for homemade elderberry syrup. I also shared two simple recipes that make it easy to serve to kids. Like most little people, my children balk at anything that resembles medicine, but lunge full-speed towards foods that pass for snacks or desserts. Knowing that, i usually use fruit juice sweetened popsicles or gummies to deliver the medicinal benefits of elderberries into their bellies.
This weekend, I had the idea of using kombucha to make gummies and, although you have to be careful not to heat it too much (otherwise you’ll kill the beneficial bacteria), it’s a simple, quick recipe that I think lots of kids (and their grown ups!) will enjoy. If you don’t brew your own “booch”, not to worry - commercial varieties work just fine. With so many brands and flavors on the market, you could have a field day experimenting with this recipe. So far, I’ve made berry and mango flavors using Trilogy brand kombucha - both of which were gobbled up in just a couple minutes!
This recipe is fairly straightforward, although you may need to play around with it to make it sweet to your liking. We add 1 tsp of honey to our gummies, making them mildly sweet. If my kids had it their way, we’d add thrice as much! For a mold, I used a candy mold similar to these.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
In a small pot, heat the kombucha over very low heat. Be careful not to bring it to a boil as the high temperature will kill the beneficial bacteria. Warm it to body temperature so it’s just warm enough to melt the gelatin.
Add the gelatin and mix briskly and constantly until both are completely dissolved.
Remove the pot from heat and add the honey.
Place the silicone molds on a baking sheet for support, then spoon the mixture into the molds.
Place the baking sheet with the molds in the refrigerator to chill and set for about an hour.
Pop the gummies out of the molds and store them for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (Not that they’ll last that long!).
*For gelatin, I used Knox brand, which is easy to find at most grocery stores. In the past, I’ve also used grass-fed varieties made by Great Lakes and Vital Proteins.