Review/Giveaway: Glee Make Your Own Candy Kit

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We recently had the opportunity to make gummy candy using Glee Gum’s Make Your Own Gummy Candy Kit. 


I thought I’d give you a little visual tour of the steps before telling you our opinions…
First we read about seaweed and how it is harvested, and then we soak REAL seaweed.


While that’s soaking, we find objects to use for creating candy molds.  We wash and dry them…


Then we spread out the molding starch and attempt to make molds with our clean little objects.  When all else fails, we use our fingers.  And grab out the Jello Jigglers mold tray.


With the molds ready to go, we start cooking up the seaweed and seaweed powder.  Before adding the colored sugar packet, we dig the whole seaweed out of the mix, since it’s done its job.


Mom pours the stuff into the molds and we stick it into the fridge while we go outside to play.  When we get back, we unmold and dip the candies (or gummy cookies, as Esmé calls them) into sour coating.


And we eat them.


And we are very happy!

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Alrighty, let’s get to the official blurb about this product:

Available in Make Your Own Chocolate, Make Your Own Chewing Gum, and Make Your Own Gummies, these activity kits are all-natural, educational, and eco-friendly. With pre-packaged ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions, everyone aged 8 and up gets a real kick out of making candy from scratch. Focusing on the history behind and the origin of these candies, each kit is designed to captivate your interest, connect you to the global community, and create something yummy to eat in the process!

What We Liked:  This is a perfect item for our Christmas list.  It’s clutter-free.  Kids will love it – it’s candy, after all.  Parents will love the educational and creative aspect of it – and the ingredients aren’t too bad for a candy.

Personally, I loved the educational sheet, which introduces Divina, a girl whose family grows seaweed in the Philippines.  Not only does it explain a little of the science involved, it encourages global awareness and responsibility.  I think the full lesson plans provided on the Glee Gum site would be terrific for older kids.

As a vegetarian who *tries* to avoid gelatin, I was pleased that this product does not use it.  Another plus for seaweed gels is that they can be reheated and poured if you want to reshape something or do a second run.

The kit gives both stovetop and microwave directions.  We went stovetop since it seems more tangible, but it’s nice to have both options.

And Esmé?  Loved just about everything in the process.  She was completely engaged from beginning to end, especially the consumption.  And that makes Mom happy!

What We Didn’t Like:  One step of the process drove Mom crazy – the molding starch.  No matter how carefully we pressed objects into the starch, it would crack, or at best, leave a very vague impression.  Esmé really really wanted gummy fish, but I couldn’t manage it – a little disappointment on her part.  But she perked right up when I brought out the Jello Jiggler tray.  Ice cube trays would probably work just fine, too.

Also:  the package is clearly labeled for ages 8 & up.  I’m not sure entirely why – perhaps that’s the recommended age for unsupervised candy making.

Overall – a terrific concept and product that we thoroughly enjoyed and will be passing on to others.
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Would you like to try this out?  Check the store locator to find a store near you!

Glee Gum is offering one lucky reader their choice of one of the following:

• Make Your Own Chewing Gum Kit
• Make Your Own Gummy Candy Kit
• Make Your Own Chocolate Kit

To Enter:

• Leave a comment stating which kit you’d like to win.  Make sure I have a way to contact you.
• If you’re a subscriber or follower, leave a second comment for a second entry.
• And we'll give you a third entry on this one!  If you follow Glee Gum on twitter or or like Glee Gum on facebook, leave a third comment.

Giveaway ends November 10, 2010.  Winner will be chosen randomly.  Open to those with continental US addresses only. 

Thanks to Glee Gum for providing the Make Your Own Candy Kits for review/giveaway, along with 6 packs of Mini Glee Gum.