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Giant strawberries
Giant strawberry sweets are large, soft and strawberry flavoured, and two well known recipes in Britain are both made without gelatine. But gelatine free does not tell the whole story. Here is what goes into them, and the small differences that matter for diet and allergies.
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Giant strawberries are large, soft jelly sweets shaped and flavoured like strawberries. Two well known versions in British shops come from Haribo, which calls them Giant Strawbs, and Kingsway, a pick and mix brand, which sells them in quarter pound, 113 g bags.
Set with starch
Both recipes are set with starch rather than gelatine: see starch jelly sweets explained
Haribo Giant Strawbs. Haribo lists glucose syrup, sugar, starch, strawberry juice from concentrate, citric acid, fruit and plant concentrates including aronia, blackcurrant, elderberry and spirulina for colour, caramelised sugar syrup, sunflower oil, flavouring, beeswax as a glazing agent, and elderberry extract. Haribo says they are suitable for vegetarians, and gives 42 g of sugar per 100 g.
Kingsway Giant Strawberries. The retailer ToffeeWorld lists sugar, glucose syrup, wheat starch, water, modified maize and potato starch, lactic, malic and citric acids, flavouring, black carrot, spirulina and safflower concentrates, coconut oil and carnauba wax. It describes them as gelatine free and suitable for vegans.
Vegetarian, vegan and wheat
The two recipes show why it pays to read the whole label:
- Beeswax. Haribo's are glazed with beeswax, a product of bees, so they suit vegetarians but not vegans: see what is beeswax on sweets?
- Carnauba wax. Kingsway's use carnauba wax, from the leaves of a Brazilian palm, so they can be vegan: see what is carnauba wax on sweets?
- Wheat. Kingsway's contain wheat starch, so they are not suitable for anyone who must avoid wheat: see wheat in sweets
Strawberry cousins
If you like strawberry sweets, see also strawberries and cream sweets and how are strawberry laces made?
In our pick and mix
We sell 
Giant Strawberries by the 100 g. Recipes differ between makers, so the card opens up to show the full ingredients and allergens for the giant strawberries we actually stock.
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For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
Free to cite, quote, and reuse with attribution to sweeties.net.
Questions and answers
Do giant strawberries contain gelatine?
Not in the two recipes here. Haribo's Giant Strawbs and Kingsway's Giant Strawberries are both set with starch, and both makers or retailers describe them as suitable for vegetarians.
Are giant strawberries vegan?
It depends on the maker. Kingsway's are sold as vegan, glazed with carnauba wax from a palm. Haribo's Giant Strawbs are suitable for vegetarians but glazed with beeswax, so they are not vegan.
Are giant strawberries gluten free?
Not always. Kingsway's Giant Strawberries contain wheat starch, so they are not suitable for people who must avoid wheat. Always check the allergens.
Sources
- HARIBO Giant Strawbs, Haribo UK
- Kingsway Giant Strawberries, product listing, ToffeeWorld
- Beeswax, Wikipedia
Keep reading
- Diet, allergens and labelsStarch jelly sweets explainedStarch can set a jelly sweet without gelatine, as in Turkish delight, and trays of starch shape gummies. What that means for vegans, and why they firm up.
- Questions people askWhat is beeswax on sweets?Beeswax, E901, is the wax honey bees build their comb with. A thin coat gives sweets a shine and keeps moisture in. It is not vegan and cannot be digested.
- Questions people askWhat is carnauba wax on sweets?Carnauba wax, E903, comes from the leaves of a Brazilian palm. It makes sweets shine and stops them sticking. How it is made, and the labour scandal behind it.
- Diet, allergens and labelsWheat in sweetsWheat turns up in liquorice, wafer bars and malted centres, while wheat glucose syrup is exempt from gluten labelling. How to spot wheat and gluten.
- Questions people askWhat sweets are gelatine free?Boiled sweets, rock and sherbet rarely need gelatine, and some chewy sweets have dropped it, from Fruit Pastilles to Percy Pigs. How to check.
- Sweet by sweetStrawberries and cream sweetsStrawberries and cream sweets are boiled sweets named after the dessert served at Wimbledon. The recipes here contain no cream, and one is sugar free.