Think about the best kinds of food. I’m talking #eats like pizza, ice cream, and sushi. Now add gummy candy. Seems like a dream, right? Are you salivating?
Drool nor fantasize any longer. With Redwood Ventures’ Foodie Surprise Food Carts, kids ages 6 and up can create gummy replicas of their favorite dishes using only a few drops of tap water and powder.
Each Foodie Surprise Food Cart set contains a mystery snack kit, revealed only when kids lift the lid on top of the outer packaging. The colorful and decorative carts reveal the theme: open one box and you might find the pink-and-green pizza mobile, topped with a cute plastic pepperoni/mushroom slice. This means you will be making a gummy pizza pie! Open another and you could discover a banana split on cookie wheels, which means you’ll be making a mini candy sundae.
All of the ingredients and tools for the gummy creations are hidden within the layered, easily deconstructed carts. For example, in the banana split cart, the powder packets kids will use to create candy bananas and vanilla ice cream “scoops” are tucked away in the wheelbarrow-like bottom, which they can access by lifting off the smiling plastic sorbet on top. Another compartment has the tiny mixing cup, mixing spoon, and miniature confectionary molds. Kids may come across other goodies — such as attachable, ornamental stickers — depending on which Food Cart they get. For example, the pizza mobile includes pizza stickies for its wheels.
Once kids discover all of the ingredients and tools, they can start creating gummies. Each box comes with a simple, half-page, step-by-step instruction manual with illustrated, color-coordinated instructions.
I highly recommend creating the gummy treats in a kitchen or a bathroom. Why? While the recipes require a meager supply of water, kids will need to fill — and refill — the mixing cup throughout. Plus, the gummy creation process is messy. Spills or overflow are inevitable given the rapid-rise chemical reaction of the powder meeting water, and the process of transferring the liquid mixture to the mold. Sticky residue getting on the provided tools, kids’ hands, and the surrounding surface area is more or less unavoidable, but the plus side is that your fingers will take on the sweet smell of candy.
Producing the gummy snacks is challenging and fun, but patience and focus are key. Each step requires specific amounts of water and powder, followed by a short wait once the mixtures have been poured into the molds (usually around 10 seconds). It’s a pretty solid introduction for kids who are interested in cooking or baking, given the precise measurements and timing required. They are, after all, working from a recipe. Imparting kids with fun-filled tasks that require following instructions and eventual cleanup can’t hurt either.
The Foodie Surprise Food Cart series contains eight collectible kits in all, two for each food item (ice cream, pizza, sushi, and bubble tea). Collect em’ all, and dine down on all the gummies your heart desires!
