What Pork Is Doing In Your Favorite Candy

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Ever think about how very few popular candies, from gummy bears and jelly beans to marshmallows, aren't considered vegan, halal, or kosher? The answer can be found in the ingredient section of your candy's label in the form of gelatin, an ingredient that's usually derived from pork.

If you often make desserts at home, you're probably no stranger to gelatin. Available in many forms from see-through dissolvable sheets to a powder, it's the key ingredient in sweet treats like homemade Turkish delights or strawberry panna cotta. Just a teaspoon mixed in and the food gets a springy, bouncy texture. You see, when you first stir gelatin with water, the gelatin molecules connect with one another to form a kind of super-flexible web. Add sugar and water into the mix, and this gelatinous web will capture the sugar molecules, forming a candy mixture that's both sweet-tasting and pliable at the same time.

This texturizing effect of gelatin is the exact reason why it is near and dear to the heart of most candymakers, though it might not be so lovely for folks who are trying to avoid pork or any animal product. Speaking of which, how exactly do you go from pork to gelatin, anyway?

Gelatin starts as collagen, a special protein known for its strength and flexibility. You find it in the skin, bones, and tendons of all living animals — yes, that includes humans. In gelatin production, around 40% comes specifically from pork skin.

To turn a sheet of pork skin into gelatin, it must first be thoroughly cleaned to remove impurities like fat and minerals. Then it's dipped into a vat of food-grade acid to break down the collagen molecules. After several extraction and purification stages, the result is a colorless, flavorless, bouncy substance — pure gelatin. Candy manufacturers take this and gradually stir it into their candy mixtures until the final product has the exact texture that is desired. A small amount of gelatin will give you chewy candies like licorice, while more will give you springier varieties like Fruit Snacks (if your sweet tooth has been activated, know that you can order Fruit Snacks on Amazon).

If the idea of animals in your candy is offputting, plant-based alternatives do exist and are becoming quite popular. For example, agar powder (taken from seaweed) or pectin (extracted from fruit) have a similar texturizing effect as gelatin. So, while shopping for candies, look out for any with a vegan label, like Candy People's VegoBears Vegan Gummy Bears (which use pectin), or Dandies Vegan Marshmallows that use a red seaweed extract known as carrageenan to give the marshies their classic fluffiness. No need to give up on your sweet treats — all you need to do is pick your brand carefully.