Vegetarian Gummi Bears

Another thing I discovered last week during my highly scientific exploration of German cuisine is that Gummi Bears seem quite popular. I went into two stores that sold nothing but gummi bears (and gummi rope, and gummi fish, and gummi beer, and gummi naked ladies, etc.). I was overwhelmed with all the colorful gummi awesomeness, like Hedwig, discovering colorful West German gummis for the first time. Until, of course, I started reading labels. "Gelatine" in all of them. I did not need much German to translate that.

I left the store more than a little disappointed, knowing that I would likely never find vegetarian gummis and would miss out on this very important cultural experience . . . until I found a store a few doors down called Bären-Treff:

And found myself standing in front of a whole section of "ohne Gelatine" vegetarian gummis! 

This is the bag of "starch bears" (loosely translated) I bought, named for the tapioca and potato starch that serves as a substitute for the gelatin. They are also gluten-free and lactose-free (though not vegan--they contain beeswax). According to the humorously bad Google Translate version of the company's website, these are "Finally, also for vegetarians and Muslims" and "will warm the heart vegetarians." Exactly. These were awesome and oddly addictive. I've polished off the entire bag and am now sad they're gone.