Over the weekend, I mentioned that this term, a play group I attend is learning about bugs! ... Well, I volunteered for morning tea this week, and the 'bug' we're learning about is:
WORMS!
Slippery, slimy, wriggly worms.
I'd seen this online, probably via Pinterest, where you make up a jelly mixture and put it into straws to make worms... Well, I tried it and it totally failed! I tied the straws together, made the jelly mixture, even taped the bottom of the straws closed to try and keep the jelly inside the straws... But, it all came out the bottom, into the glass and the procedure ended up as a sticky, icky mess! So, what I did instead was pour the whole jelly mixture into a tall glass, in the hopes that possibly I would be able to stick straws into it (once it's set) and pull out some worms one by one...
In the meantime, I stuck with what I knew would work: CUPCAKES.
I figured that worms crawl through the dirt, so obviously I would start with dirt coloured (chocolate) cupcakes. I then got some sour worms, cut at various lengths, and poked them into the cupcakes that I had iced and dipped in crushed Oreo biscuits :)
After making these, I had a new idea for the jelly worms, on the probable cause that the jelly-in-the-glass idea wasn't going to work as I imagine... I made the jelly as per usual, placed straws into a baking tray, and covered them with the jelly, making sure the straws were filled... I used Strawberries & Cream flavoured jelly this time, figuring that it's more 'worm' coloured than 'tropical', and because I hadn't seen it before and thought "what a cool flavour!" :)
Be warned if you want to try them this way: It can be messy. Straws float, so you need to push them under the jelly, slide your finger along to get the air bubbles out, and then let go while they are still submerged to fill them up with jelly... Prepare for jelly to be over your fingers and perhaps even over your bench top.
Once the jelly was set, I took the straws out and gave them a rinse... Now I was just one step away from having edible jelly worms!!
I Google'd some ideas - one of which was to use a rolling pin over them to squeeze the jelly out... Cool, sure, so I tried that with a few straws, but it just smooshed over the jelly... Next I tried just using my fingertips to slide them out - which worked! But... I must have done something wrong in the process, because the jelly worms, that should have looked all nice and sealed, having the consistency and texture of a real worm, looked like this:
I concluded this to be a Pinterest failure, however I'd definitely love to hear from someone who has been successful in their jelly-straw-worm making!!
At least the cupcakes looked and tasted great.
Did you know that:
After making these, I had a new idea for the jelly worms, on the probable cause that the jelly-in-the-glass idea wasn't going to work as I imagine... I made the jelly as per usual, placed straws into a baking tray, and covered them with the jelly, making sure the straws were filled... I used Strawberries & Cream flavoured jelly this time, figuring that it's more 'worm' coloured than 'tropical', and because I hadn't seen it before and thought "what a cool flavour!" :)
Be warned if you want to try them this way: It can be messy. Straws float, so you need to push them under the jelly, slide your finger along to get the air bubbles out, and then let go while they are still submerged to fill them up with jelly... Prepare for jelly to be over your fingers and perhaps even over your bench top.
Once the jelly was set, I took the straws out and gave them a rinse... Now I was just one step away from having edible jelly worms!!
But then it occurred to me:
I have no idea how to get them out of the straws!
I Google'd some ideas - one of which was to use a rolling pin over them to squeeze the jelly out... Cool, sure, so I tried that with a few straws, but it just smooshed over the jelly... Next I tried just using my fingertips to slide them out - which worked! But... I must have done something wrong in the process, because the jelly worms, that should have looked all nice and sealed, having the consistency and texture of a real worm, looked like this:
I concluded this to be a Pinterest failure, however I'd definitely love to hear from someone who has been successful in their jelly-straw-worm making!!
At least the cupcakes looked and tasted great.
I couldn't help but add this scene from Dumb & Dumber.
... Purely for the worm reference, and maybe also for a laugh :)
Did you know that:
- Worms produce approximately 4.5 kilos of "organic material" each year ;)
- Worms are the staple diet for many types of birds, snakes, hedgehogs & beetles, and are also eaten by mammals such as foxes & bears.
- Worms breathe through their skin.
- Worms have both male & female sex organs, and both worms produce children when they mate.
For more interesting worm facts, click here :)
Time to get a wriggle on and clean up my worm making mess! :)
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