A cool science experiment that’s also delicious.
Our Japanese-language reporter Tuku Inui found an interesting fun fact while surfing the net and decided to try it out: making glowing gummies at home. The secret ingredient was Oronamin C, a popular carbonated drink in Japan that has a bunch of vitamins and amino acids and once had one of our reporters in its tasty clutches. Here’s how Tuku made them.
Ingredients and supplies:
1 bag gummies mix
1 teaspoon Oronamin C
30 grams (1 ounce) water
Molds to put gummies in (silicone is recommended)
Microwave-safe dish
Microwave
If you’re in Japan, you can get a gummies mix at Daiso in one of three flavors: apple, grape, and strawberry. Note that it’s a popular item, though, so you may have to visit a few branches before finding one that’s not sold out! Tuku managed to find some apple-flavored gummies mix. There are instructions on the package, albeit in Japanese, so here they are in English:
First, add all of the gummies mix and water to a microwave-safe dish. Mix well.
If you want to make the gummies glow, add one teaspoon of Oronamin C (this instruction isn’t on the package, by the way). Mix together.
Put in the microwave on a 500-Watt setting for 60 seconds.
If your mixture looks like beer with some head on it, you can move on to the next step. Otherwise, keep microwaving until it looks like this.
Mix one more time. The bubbles will disappear quickly as you mix.
Add the mixture to your molds.
Once they’re full, put them in the refrigerator until they’ve reached a gummy-like texture.
Tuku let them harden in the fridge overnight and tried the glowing experiment the following day. Removing them from the molds proved to be a chore as they were very solid and stuck to the sides, so we highly recommend using something flexible like silicone.
▼ It might even be helpful to lightly grease the molds before pouring in your mixture!
Tuku tried the glowing experiment using a blacklight, but you can also use anything that emits UV light, like a gel nail curing machine. Get ready to see what they look like. (Warning: bright flash in the following GIF)
▼ Ta da! Glow-in-the-dark!
Tuku was blown away by the results. If you’re wondering how this is possible, it’s supposedly due to the vitamin B2 included in Oronamin C. This particular ingredient responds to UV light by, well, glowing. And as a bonus, they were pretty tasty.
▼ Tuku is considering trying the other gummies mix flavors available.
So if you’re looking to kill some time in Japan with a fun science experiment, Tuku highly recommends this for the wow factor. It also doubles as a snack–perfect! Pick up some magic gummies, too, while you’re waiting for the glowing gummies to harden.
Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]