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Dessert

Gum Drops

A chewy candy made from gum arabic, sugar, and water, flavored and colored, then molded and rolled in sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Gum Drops

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mixture

  1. Dissolve the gum arabic in the water and strain it.

  2. Add the sugar and heat until dissolved.

  3. Flavor to taste and add colorings while the mixture is warm.

Mold and set

  1. Fill a shallow pan with cornstarch and make indentations for the gum drops.

  2. When the mixture is the consistency of honey, pour it gently into the molds.

  3. Set the pan aside in a warm place for several days until the gum drops are hard enough to handle.

Finish

  1. Remove from molds, wet slightly, and roll in granulated sugar.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Gum arabic
Provides the gel structure that lets the candy set firm and hold its shape.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and bulk, and helps the set candy keep a tender chew.
Water
Dissolves the gum arabic and sugar so the mixture can be strained and poured.

The step that matters

Pouring at the right consistency. The mixture must reach a honey-like thickness before pouring. If it is too thin, the drops spread and lose their shape; if it is too thick, it will not fill the indentations evenly.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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