Shelf Stable Gummy Candy Recipe

With the impending cannabis legalization Canada-wide, I felt it was important to get all my ducks in a row as I'm leaning heavily to create my own edibles company (in the process of trademarks now). While I was researching the topic, I ran into several people asking how to keep their gummies from getting moldy. I did notice that some people had the correct answer, but didn't seem to be taken too seriously (from what little I've read).

The answer to the question is Potassium Sorbate. I was on the LorAnn Oils website, where the owner mentioned that she used the Mold Inhibitor that she sells to create a 10 month (and counting) shelf life. I spoke with a representative for the company as I was informed that as a non-business resident of Canada, they couldn't ship to me.

Disappointed, but not defeated, I went to search for other ways to get the product. As it turns out you can buy it on Amazon Canada, as well as their awesome concentrated flavours by the dram. Interestingly, I stumbled onto some web page that showed a picture of the LorAnn Mold Inhibitor and it listed the contents as potassium sorbate and nothing else. As soon as I got that information, I went straight to Amazon and ordered a pound of it for $15. What I still need to research is, how much to use per batch (300-350 gummy bears). The woman from LorAnn said she used 1 drop per sheet of gummies (approx. 50); therefore, in my case, 6-7 drops.

Having said all that, I'm going to test my current gummies by taking a few out of the fridge to see how long they survive before getting moldy. I think part of the issue might be the method of making the concoction. I use a recipe that doesn't involve water as an ingredient. My tincture is cannabis (decarboxylated in a sous vide cooker), add that and half a bottle (.57L from a 1.14L bottle) of Global 94, which is 94 proof Alcool (odorless) - currently only available in Quebec and Alberta. Those two ingredients go into my Magic Butter Machine (if you don't have one - man, you gotta get one). I set the temp for 130 for 8 hours and walk away. Once the process is complete, you have a beautiful tincture. I bottle the excess to squirt in my beer to make infused beer with no searching for one that tastes good. I tried one and it was awful. Now I have my favourite beer, squirt one dropper full per beer (one squirt only for most) and I'm happy as a clam. The rest of the magic gummy bear recipe can be found on Magicbuttermachine.com or on YouTube, where the company has tons of recipes. The one thing I do differently from those good folks is, I grind my cannabis in a blender prior to decarboxylation. They recommend against this, but because I use a sous vide cooker, which takes the guesswork out of decarboxylation. This is the most important step in making any edible.

I really hope that everyone is using a tried and true method of decarboxylation as you might not be getting all the THC you can from your precious buds. I had failures in ovens and toaster ovens when I've sat there with a thermometer for the suggested time. That was another reason I went to the sous vide cooker.

Anyway, I've drifted off topic. If anyone wants to chat about my findings or suggest your own, I'm all ears. I'm currently producing gummy bears that I can say with confidence, contain at least 40mg (and possibly up to 45mg) THC per little bear. One little (10ml?) bear is all most need in an evening. Canada is opening up a brave new world with federal legalization (only the second (Uruguay)), as being the first country of the G7 to do so. This will force the U.S. to rewrite their laws with regards to banking, which will help Uruguay.

As you can tell, dear reader, I have a lot to say on the topic. This is my first post of, no doubt many to come. Let's get the conversation about edibles and growing in general started.