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Normally, we use "elastic" for materials such as rubber.

What is the common word for candy that can be bent or stretched easily like jelly?

We can say "jelly candy", but there are many kinds of candy that are bent or stretched easily but ate not jelly.

Can "elastic" be used for candy or food in everyday English?

For example, "I like eating elastic candy/ elastic cake/ elastic chocolate..."?

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    I can't imagine any kind of cake or chocolate that would be elastic, but the word just means 'able to return to its own shape after being stretched'.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Nov 1, 2022 at 13:45
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    I would say elastic is definitely not idiomatic for foods. It sounds like you're eating rubber.
    – stangdon
    Commented Nov 1, 2022 at 13:55
  • @stangdon I was about to say I can't think of any food where "elastic" would be a reasonable description, but I realized I can think of one case where I've seen "elastic" in relation to food, and it was in Cooks Illustrated's The Science of Good Cooking describing Aligot (probably this recipe. I can't think of a situation where I would use it though, definitely not in relation to cake or chocolate.
    – Esther
    Commented Nov 1, 2022 at 14:09
  • Chewing gum is elastic, of course.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Nov 1, 2022 at 14:15
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    You wouldn't use "elastic" if you could just use a normal word like "gummy" or "chewy," assuming that's the kind of food you're saying you like. I certainly don't know what elastic cake would be. Elastic chocolate is also a stretch, if you'll permit the pun. In any case, some additional context would sharpen the answers here. FYI, in the US, "jelly" is typically a synonym for jam and is rarely used to refer to candies.
    – cruthers
    Commented Nov 2, 2022 at 4:40

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The word "elastic" is appropriate for food, but almost no one uses it that way.
People are far more likely to say "rubbery" or some such less technical word.

One case where it commonly does appear with food is with respect to making bread, where recipes refer the state where kneading has stretched the glutins and made the dough smooth and elastic. But again the word is being used in a technical sense.

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Certainly.

When describing dough, 'elastic' is very common.

It's not something that a native speaker would apply to food that was ready to eat.

If speaking of bread or cake that could be described as 'elastic', the term 'springy' or 'spongy' is generally used.

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