Gummies and marshmallows get most of the attention in confectionery, but they are not the only sugar products that need structure. Licorice, nougat, Turkish delight and fruit snacks each have their own textural demands — and gellan gum suits some of them far better than others.
Here is an honest map of where it works, where it does not, and what to do about it.
Licorice: a strong candidate
Traditional licorice is built on wheat flour, starch, sugar and gelatine, with the flour and starch doing the structuring work. That formulation has two problems for modern manufacturers: it contains gluten, and it contains gelatine, which rules out vegan and vegetarian positioning.
Gellan gum can replace part of that structure:
| Contribution | Comment |
|---|---|
| Firm, chewy bite | Low acyl gellan gum gives a firm set that holds through packaging |
| Heat stability | The product does not soften or slump in warm conditions |
| Gluten-free | Removes the wheat flour requirement |
| Vegan | Removes the gelatine requirement |
The texture caveat is real. Gelatine melts in the mouth; gellan gum gels do not. A gellan-set licorice will feel more rubbery and less "melty" than a gelatine one. This is the same trade-off that applies to vegan gummies, and it is a sensory decision rather than a technical failure.
For the softer chew that licorice eaters expect, high acyl gellan gum is usually the better starting point. Its elastic, thermally reversible network is closer to gelatine's mouth behaviour than the brittle low acyl network.
Turkish delight: a genuine alternative approach
Turkish delight is traditionally a starch gel — corn or wheat starch gelatinised into a soft, translucent, chewy confection, heavily dusted and often filled with nuts.
Gellan gum can produce a starch-free version with a cleaner flavour and better clarity. Two considerations:
- Texture differs. Starch gives the characteristic long, soft chew. Low acyl gellan gum gives a shorter, firmer bite. High acyl gellan gum gets closer to traditional.
- High solids are a formulation constraint. Sugar levels of 65–75 % make hydration difficult, because there is less water available for the gum to hydrate into. The gum must be hydrated in the water phase before the bulk of the sugar is added, or you will get incomplete hydration and an uneven gel.
This is the single biggest technical obstacle in sugar confectionery, and it applies to every product in this article. See our article on why gellan gum hydrates more slowly in high-solids formulations for the detail.
Fruit snacks and fruit leather: a good fit
Fruit leather, fruit bars and fruit snack pieces are essentially concentrated fruit purée that must hold together, slice cleanly and not stick. Structure usually comes from pectin, starch or a combination.
Gellan gum brings two advantages:
- Low dosage. A small amount gives structure to a highly concentrated fruit system, where adding starch would dull the flavour and change the texture substantially.
- Syneresis control. Fruit systems are prone to releasing water over shelf life, and a gellan network helps hold it in.
The complication is that fruit purée is acidic and carries potassium and naturally present calcium. That means the ion balance is already partly set by the fruit itself, and it varies with variety, origin and season. Test with the real fruit, not a model system.
Nougat: not the right tool
Being straightforward about this one: nougat is an aeration system, not a gelling system.
Nougat's structure comes from whipping egg white or a whipping protein into a hot sugar syrup, then setting the matrix as it cools. The texture is defined by air cells and by the protein film around them.
Gellan gum does not whip, does not stabilise foam structure the way a protein does, and does not contribute to the aerated character. Adding it to nougat will give you a firmer, shorter matrix without solving the actual structural problem.
If you are trying to make nougat vegan, the correct question is what replaces the egg white's whipping function — typically a plant protein or a saponin-based whipping agent — not what replaces its gelling function. Gellan gum may have a minor role in controlling chew and preventing sag, but it will not be the primary structuring agent.
The shared technical problems
Whatever the product, four issues recur across sugar confectionery:
1. Hydration in high-solids systems. Less free water means slower and less complete hydration. Always hydrate the gum in the water phase before adding the bulk of the sugar, and allow enough time and temperature.
2. Deposition and moulding. If you are depositing into starch moulds, the viscosity and set behaviour of the syrup determine whether you get a clean fill. Gellan gum's set temperature interacts with the deposition temperature — get the sequencing wrong and the syrup sets in the depositor.
3. Drying. Many confections are dried after deposition. Gellan gum gels hold water and release it slowly, so drying times may change compared with a starch or gelatine formulation.
4. Sugar crystallisation. Gellan gum does not inhibit crystallisation the way some hydrocolloids and invert sugars do. In a high-sugar confection, crystallisation control remains a separate formulation task.
A development checklist
- Choose the grade by target texture: HA for soft and gelatine-like, LA for firm and heat-stable.
- Hydrate in the water phase, fully, before the sugar.
- Audit the ion contribution of every ingredient — including any fruit component.
- Check the deposition and set temperature sequence against your moulding line.
- Verify texture after the full drying stage, because a gel that is right warm may not be right cold.
- Test at the pack's temperature and humidity extremes.
For high acyl and low acyl gellan gum (E418) with technical support for confectionery applications, contact Cinogel.
Part of the E418.org gellan gum knowledge base. See also: gellan gum formula for vegan gummy candy, and gellan gum formula for marshmallow.