In his TED talk, Andrew emphasized that the Lab is not in the ear manufacturing business. After our tenth birthday celebration, that maybe isn’t the case anymore. Enter the new era of creation: the gummy ears.
Phase 1: Bunsen burner s’mores
The first idea was to roast marshmallows over Bunsen burners. That would have been cool, but we were holding the event at the Shopify and didn’t want to worry about accidentally burning their beautiful space down.
Phase 2: Ear Mallows
The next idea was along the s’mores theme, but with less fire. We got in touch with Anthony who made us this amazing ear-shaped mould. He did this by 3D-printing ear shapes and pouring food-grade silicone around them.
Unfortunately, our marshmallow formula just didn’t work out, so we came up with another idea.
Phase 3: Gummy Ears
We aren’t strangers to playing with gel in the lab, and so this was the natural next step. Andrew kindly spent the night before perfecting the recipe, using Jell-o, unflavoured gelatin and water. Here’s the winning combination:
Bloom two 28 gram packs of knox gelatin in 120 mL of water.
Add one Jell-o pack - whichever colour or flavour you want.
Heat the mixture gently until it all melts.
Pour into the moulds and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.
Pop out and eat!
Their removal turned out to be a bit of a delicate procedure due to the shape, but by the party, we were all experts at extracting them.
The verdict? They were delicious and a big hit with our guests.
After all, we’ve been known to make ears in stranger ways.
Want to make body parts (or other things…) with your own custom mould? Visit our friends at Ecotonos Design + Manufacturing!