For favors that I am making for an upcoming party, I'm looking to do some old-fashioned homemade gum drops. I have found a recipe that looks do-able. It calls for candy flavoring. I've also found other recipes that call for using juice, which rather limits the flavors to the flavor of juice that I purchase.
In looking at my local stores, I cannot find anything in their online product lists indicating that they have candy flavoring, even those that carry Wilton products. I like the idea of candy flavoring for the variety, but am unsure about finding it.
Are there pros and cons to using candy flavoring for gummy candy that I should be aware of in making the decision of juice versus specific flavoring? Are their alternate ways of flavoring that I should be considering besides what I've seen in recipes so far?
Best Answer
I would go for the juice if you are going for a fruit flavor. A pure ingredient like a fruit juice will always give a better flavor than pre-made flavorings. That said, when you do need a more difficult flavoring, I would recommend using oils, as has been suggested. You can find oil-based flavors in an almost infinite number of flavors:
https://www.lorannoils.com/c-6-super-strength-flavors-candy-oils.aspx
(I haven't tried these, but they have been recommended to me for use in chocolate.)