Fruit Squishies

The internet has a conspicuous lack of good fruit snack recipes.

It's true. I'm convinced it's some kind of conspiracy. It's not that they don't exist... it's just that they're all almost exactly the same and none of them are like real fruit snacks. Suspicious.

So, for personal and professional reasons, I embarked on a journey to create a decent homemade fruit snack. It was a journey fraught with gelatin pit-falls, and I can't say that I've reached the destination. But, for the sake of you granola moms and food adventurers out there who might find this useful, I will relay what I've learned:

1. You cannot create a realistic fruit snack using just gelatin. It's just like extra hard jello (duh). None of that chewy texture.

2. You cannot create a realistic fruit snack using a lot of normal corn starch. It's just... starchy. And weird. Which leads me to...

3. I'm not going to be able to replicate real fruit snacks. Partly because I don't have easy access to modified corn starch. Partly because of the great Fruit Snack Conspiracy that prevents me from learning how they're actually made.

On the plus side, these little Fruit Squishies are pretty tasty in their own way and make a very fun activity for kids (of all ages). I created this recipe by working backwards from a Welch's fruit snack label. However, mine don't really feel like them at all and they have a lot less corn starch (and less sugar). You're welcome to change the fruits if you want. It could affect the outcome due to different pectin levels in different fruits, but it shouldn't matter all that much. For further experimentation, I would suggest leaving the fruit snacks out for awhile on the counter (uncovered) or dehydrating them for a bit and see what that does to the texture. You could also try to find a high-amylopectin (waxy) starch, as this should form a firmer gel.

Before you attempt this, purchasing a set of candy molds and some syringes will make your life easier (and awesomer). You can get boring molds, or culturally-relevant molds that will make you the "fun mom" (or dad, aunt, grandma, cousin, etc).

Fruit Squishies
1 1/2 cups whole grapes
3/4 cup strawberries, chopped
1/4 cup honey (I also tried this with corn syrup, but it just didn't have as much flavor as I wanted it to)
1 teaspoon corn starch
2 pkgs plain gelatin (0.5 oz)

1. Set molds on a small tray or baking sheet. Spray evenly with a thin layer of cooking spray or oil.
2. Add the grapes, strawberries, and honey to a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth as possible.
3. Pour about a cup of the mixture into a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin evenly over the top of the surface and set aside. When the gelatin mixture looks wrinkly and the gelatin has "bloomed" (absorbed liquid and softened), whisk to incorporate.
4. Meanwhile, to the remaining mixture in the blender, add the corn starch and blend until smooth. Pour into a saucepan set over medium heat. Heat until bubbling, stirring occasionally, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
5. Add the gelatin mixture to the hot corn starch mixture, whisking until smooth and gelatin has dissolved (if you rub it between your fingers, it shouldn't feel gritty).
6. Push the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove pulp/peel, which would clog the syringe.
7. Use a syringe to fill the silicone molds to the top with fruit squishy mixture. Let set for about 2 hours in the fridge, until hardened. Pop out and enjoy!

Note: it might seem like there are extra steps in here ("why can't I just throw everything in a blender, cook it, and call it good?"), but I assure you that they're necessary. Getting gelatin too hot can weaken its ability to gel, which is why it isn't blended in with everything else and cooked. You also cannot add gelatin powder straight to a hot mixture, it will "cook" the gelatin before it dissolves and create clumps, which is why it is first dissolved in the cup of fruit puree.