The sugar substitutes can also factor into the 60% dissolvable solids in the recipe which makes pectin work for gummies. But we do not suggest replacing more than 20% of the sugar with a substitute as you may encounter issues with heating and gelling. Not all sugar substitutes can be used as a replacement for granulated sugar in pectin gummies.
Pectin needs to be below 3.5ph to set into a gel. Even at high concentrations of pectin it will never be chewy, pectin is a soft and brittle gel, this is why it makes spreadable jams and jellies so well. When making a chewy pectin candy it requires a little more finesse than a gelatin gummy.
All you need are three ingredients and a candy mold: sugar free jello, unflavored gelatine powder and ¼ – ⅓ cup cold water. The amount of water used depends on how chewy or firm you want your gummy candies. ¼ cup water makes them really quite firm – but I rather like that! Candies made with ⅓ cup water are softer and of course it makes a few more!