Make Your Own Gummies Kit

SUGAR, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, SEAWEED (NOT FOR CONSUMPTION), VEGETABLE GUMS (AGAR, CARRAGEENAN AND LOCUST BEAN GUM), CITRIC ACID, BEET COLOR, NATURAL FLAVORS, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE
INCLUDES MOLDING STARCH FOR MOLDING PURPOSES ONLY.

Make your own gummies out of seaweed! Everything you need is included in this kit and it's easy! You can make your own gummi bears, gummi worms, gummi fish or any other shape. Make gummies on the stove or with a microwave. Great for class room activities, scout troops, birthday parties, home school, or after school groups. Adult supervision is recommended. Makes a great gift for kids (ages 8 & up)!

Inside each Make Your Own Gummies Kit you'll find: sour mix, colored and flavored sugar, powdered seaweed, seaweed, molding starch, instructions and the story of carrageenan.

All you have to do is wash the seaweed and boil it for a few minutes until the carrageenan is extracted. Then take out the seaweed itself, mix in the sugar, boil it again, pour it in the molds, and then add the sour mix! That's it - you have made your own yummy gummies!

As a former teacher, I think all 3 of the Verve Make-Your-Own kits are just so cool! While learning first-hand how some of kids' favorite treats are made (I am a huge fan of the show "How It's Made:!), kids also connect to historical traditions and global economies by understanding the history as well as the economies of these products, learn how raw materials are sourced and made, and learn new cultural traditions.

But mostly, these kits are just plain fun! Even adults (like me) can get into them!

These kits would make a great classroom activity, either for connecting to particular historical/ cultural units, or for a fun holiday activity. Having a Halloween party at your house? Why not have your kids make their own candy, providing fun, entertainment, and learning all at the same time.

All of the kits take about 20-30 minutes to complete, require a stove or microwave, and of course, we strongly recommend adult supervision. Makes a great gift for kids (ages 8 & up).

Also check out these other cool kits:

Make Your Own Chocolate
Make Your Own Chewing Gum

From the Verve Website, the story of Divina and her family, who grow seaweed in the Philippines:

"Divina's family has a seaweed farm in the Philippines.They live near the shore of an island and her father, like most of the people in the area, used to make a living by fishing. But nowadays, there are so many people fishing, it's getting harder and harder to be a fisherman. Some kinds of fish have even disappeared as a result of all the fishing. Luckily, a few years ago, her family started a seaweed farm.

It's pretty simple, actually- first, they take some sticks and poke them into the sand on the bottom of the sea, tying nylon fishing lines to each one. Then, they wade out into the water, pluck some sprigs of a special seaweed plant called Eucheuma cottonii, and tie them to the nylon lines. It looks like an underwater garden, really.

It grows really quickly, and when the plants are big enough to harvest, Divina cuts the seaweed back so that it can grow again.

Why grow seaweed, you might be wondering? What can her family do with it?

Well, you probably use seaweed every day without even knowing it. Some people eat it, in salads, or in sushi. But seaweed is also really important because it naturally contains a substance which makes liquids like water and milk get thicker or even become solid. We use two of these seaweed gels- carrageenan and agar- in our Gummy Kit. Just check the ingredient list on your toothpaste, cottage cheese, deodorant, dog food, pudding, even salad dressing or sandwich meat, and see if they have seaweed in them!

So, with lots of products needing gels, Divina's family and thousands of other families like hers can make money selling carrageenan. They boil the seaweed until it's like a goo, and then filter, dry it and grind it up into a powder, sort of like the process you're using in the Gummy Kit.

Now, let us tell you something you may not have known. Most gummy candies are made from gelatin, and lots of other foods have gelatin in them, too. Like marshmallows. Gelatin is a substance that is made by boiling animals' bones! You guessed it - we're using seaweed gels because seaweed is so cool- it just keeps on growing and growing, people like Divina can continue to make money, without wiping out the fish population, and it's a great alternative to gelatin!"

 

STARS: 5 out of 5 stars for naturalness
COMMENTS: Glee Gum products are made with all natural ingredients including: pure cane sugar, rice syrup, natural flavorings and colorings. Their gum base has super chewy natural chicle harvested from Sapodilla trees in the rain forests of Central America.

Glee Gum products do NOT have: artificial preservatives, artificial flavors, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners (e.g. aspartame, saccharin or cyclamate).

A bit about Verve, the manufacturer of Glee Chewing Gum and the "Make Your Own Kits", from their website:

"In 1992, the concept for Verve was born when we visited an economically depressed chicle-producing community in Northern Guatemala. Up until then, we had never really thought about how chewing gum was made. When we realized its origins, we learned that prior to the synthetic resins, chicle was the basis of the entire industry. Our goal was to support chicle-harvesting by purchasing chicle.

Today, Verve provides a sustainable source of income for those communities while simultaneously offering fun, educational, and environmentally friendly activities for kids.

Verve's commitment to environmental and social justice is twofold; first, we closely monitor the environmental and social impact of our own business practices, and second, we create products and curriculum that help children think about environmental and social issues in innovative, interesting, and developmentally appropriate ways.

Our finished products are designed to help people think about where products come from, how raw materials and natural resources can be used responsibly, and how communities around the world depend upon one another to help build a healthier future."