After the customs issues, starting in 2025, there has been a growing number of cases where KB jelly imported from Japan has been discarded by U.S. customs.
Two possible reasons can be suspected.
Either the gelling agent, gelatin, was flagged and disposed of as an animal-derived protein, or the products lacked a clearly labeled ingredient list.
Since there are no companies in the U.S. that manufacture insect jelly,
I had been considering making my own for a long time as a way to reduce costs.
However, once I actually looked into the required ingredients and calculated the costs,
the process turned out to be more complex than expected, and the price difference between making it myself and importing it was not very significant.
As a result, back in 2019, I briefly used homemade jelly made by simply mixing mashed bananas or brown sugar with gelatin.
Compared to KB jelly, the brown sugar jelly showed a weaker feeding response, while the banana jelly developed mold, hardened, or attracted fruit flies and mites almost immediately, even when left in the rearing container for just one day.
The banana jelly I made in 2019.
The insects’ response wasn’t bad, but it required daily replacement, which was quite inconvenient.
But now that imports have become an issue, I believe it’s time to start producing it myself.
First, I needed to set a few goals.
▪ To create a jelly that insects respond to well.
▪ To ensure it remains stable in the rearing environment for more than two days without spoiling.
▪ To ensure it can be stored in the refrigerator for over a month without deterioration.
With these three goals in mind, I began making the jelly.
I wanted it to be as close as possible to Japan’s KB jelly, which many breeders trust the most.
Fortunately, the ingredients of KB jelly are disclosed to some extent.
Looking at the ingredient list, the sugar components include sucrose, dextrose, and trehalose,
while the protein sources are nonfat dry milk and milk protein.
Hmm… since there are no colored ingredients, it makes sense that the jelly is white.
However, there is no way to know the most critical details, such as the gelling agent, the type of added fruit juice, or the ingredient ratios.
I sought advice from a friend who works as a pastry chef at a hotel.
To keep ingredient costs down, I always produced the jelly in 15-oz batches.
Adjusting the ratio of the gelling agents turned out to be more difficult than expected, making it hard to achieve the desired firmness.
Two versions were made, a banana version and a regular version.
Since banana powder is yellow in color, the jelly naturally takes on a slightly yellow tint.
When opening KB jelly, the aroma is quite similar to banana, which leads me to believe that the added fruit juice is also banana.
However, because I can’t think of any other fruit that would maintain a white color, it
seems likely that only a very small amount is used.
After one week of indoor storage in a pudding cup that was a little open.
The jelly on the far left was made with roughly three times the amount of gelling agent compared to the standard formula, but mold began to appear after about four days.
The banana jelly and the regular jelly did not develop mold.
But from around the fifth day, slight discoloration indicating early spoilage became noticeable.
There was also a sour smell.
This odor is caused by the slow fermentation of sugars, and KB jelly, despite containing no preservatives, shows the same behavior.
The yellowing occurs due to the high sugar and protein content.
Likewise, this is the same reaction observed when KB jelly is left at room temperature for extended periods.
I measured the pH of both LB jelly and KB jelly.
About 50 g of each jelly was mashed, then mixed with an equal amount of water at a 1:1 ratio.
After letting the mixture sit for about five minutes, the pH could be measured.
The pH of KB jelly was 3.3.
When tasted, it has a slight sourness, which is likely due to this acidity.
LB jelly measured at 3.7 pH, and while it could be lowered further, I personally feel this level is sufficient.
Looking at the KB Farm website, there is no statement claiming that only KB jelly is made without flavorings.
From my own experience of making jelly continuously over several months, I understood that it would be impossible to produce such a strong aroma without volatile flavorings.
While thinking through various options, my old friend Lucas A suggested trying a squeeze-type, pouch-style jelly.
I had previously seen jelly bottles made by the Japanese company Fujikon, which are now rarely sold, so I felt it was a reasonable suggestion.
I later sent samples of the finished jelly to Lucas A and a few other friends.
Lucas A commented that the milk candy flavor felt far too artificial and wasn’t to his liking.
I found myself largely agreeing with his assessment, so I decided to remove the milk candy flavor from the formula.
There was also another issue.
With the gelling agents I was using at the time, it was not possible to squeeze out a solid, moisture-retaining jelly from a pouch.
To dispense it, the pouch had to be pressed to break down the jelly and push it through a small opening, but during that process, it would turn watery.
No matter how I adjusted the ratios of the gelling agents, I couldn’t resolve this problem.
So once again, I asked my pastry chef friend for advice and am now experimenting with an entirely different gelling agent.
About 40 days after the final product was made
Refrigerated jar (Left) / Room-temperature vial (Right)
There were no visible signs of spoilage in either sample.
However, the vial that was stored at room temperature began to show a very gradual change in odor after about 30 days.
Even now, at 40 days, the sealed condition has prevented any sour smell from developing, but the sweet aroma has almost completely faded.
The storage condition involved exposing the samples to air for one minute each day.
The jar that had been stored in the refrigerator still smelled fresh and retained a sweet aroma.
Overall, I consider this a very successful result.
That said, when shipping during extreme summer heat, there is no guarantee that the product will not spoil in transit or that its shelf life will not be significantly shortened.
For that reason, I began considering a powdered version of the product, which would reduce shipping costs, offer a much longer shelf life, and allow safe delivery year-round.
Fortunately, I already sell a powdered DIY insect jelly imported from a Korean insect farm in my shop,
So I decided to seek advice from that farm.
When making insect jelly, a large number of ingredients are involved, and some must be added at different temperatures.
To allow all ingredients to be added at once to boiling water, fine adjustments to the overall ingredient ratios are required.
The pouch-style version, which requires a new gelling agent, is still in the testing phase.
However, after receiving advice from a Korean insect farm, I was able to develop an LB jelly that can be sold in sealed containers, as well as in powdered form.
The remaining challenge is flavoring.
Liquid banana flavorings are easy to find, but natural, powder-based banana flavorings are surprisingly difficult to source.
I found only one online shop that carries it and placed an order four weeks ago, but the shipment hasn’t even been dispatched yet lol.
I’ve never encountered an online shop like this before.
Since there’s no viable alternative at the moment, I’ll wait another week.
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