Mortar & KettleDIET SUPPORT · №038
Carminative Digestive Gummies Medium · ~50 min · Exacting · 1 batch a strong carminative tea, set into sugar-free gummies with a psyllium fibre lift A digestive tea you can pocket: cumin, fennel, aniseed, chamomile, and mint steeped strong, then set with agar into small sugar-free gummies. Each one carries a light dose of psyllium husk — a soluble fibre that swells into a gel — so a midday handful gives you the whole herb hit plus a gentle fibre top-up. Sweetened with nothing but a pinch of monk fruit, they lean on the carminative herbs rather than sugar. The set is the fussy part: the agar has to reach a real boil to gel, and the psyllium thickens the moment it hits the warm tea, so you weigh both precisely and move fast into the moulds. INGREDIENTS 350 ml filtered water (≈ 350 ml; reduces to ~250 ml strong tea) 2 g cumin seeds (seeds) 2 g fennel seeds (seeds) 2 g anise seeds (aniseed, or 1 star anise) 1.5 g chamomile flowers (dried) 0.7 g dried mint (dried) 4 g agar agar (powder; weigh precisely — it controls the set) 5 g psyllium husk (husk; weigh precisely — it controls the set) 0.1 g monk fruit extract (pure extract, a pinch to taste) Method Steep the tea, covered: bring the water to a bare simmer, add the cumin, fennel, aniseed, chamomile, and mint, cover tightly, and steep 12–15 minutes. Covering matters — the actives are volatile oils that steam off in an open pot. (12–15 min · covered) Strain and measure: strain through a fine sieve, pressing the solids, until you have about 250 ml of strong tea. Top up with hot water if you're short, or simmer it down uncovered if you're over. Activate the agar: return the 250 ml tea to the pan, whisk in the agar, bring to a full boil, then simmer 2 minutes whisking constantly. Agar has to actually boil to gel — under-heating is the number-one failure. (2 min at a boil) Sweeten: off the heat about 30 seconds, whisk in the monk fruit. Taste on a cool spoon — pure extract is 150–250× as sweet as sugar, so a pinch is plenty. Add the psyllium and move fast: whisk in the psyllium hard and fast, then spoon or press it straight into silicone moulds. It thickens on contact and agar sets at about 40°C, so you have only 60–90 seconds of working time. (work within 60–90 s) Set and unmould: set at room temperature about 20 minutes, then chill 30 minutes before unmoulding. (20 min set + 30 min chill) The chemistry anethole (C₁₀H₁₂O) · sweet fennel-anise oil cuminaldehyde (C₁₀H₁₂O) · cumin's warm aldehyde α-bisabolol (C₁₅H₂₆O) · chamomile's calming alcohol menthol (C₁₀H₂₀O) · mint's cooling compound arabinoxylan ((C₅H₈O₄)ₙ) · psyllium's gel-forming fibre Storage No sugar and no preservatives, plus water and herbs, means these mould fast. Keep them refrigerated in an airtight container and eat within 5–7 days, or freeze them. Possible side effects Always take these with a full glass of water — psyllium needs fluid to swell safely. Keep to the midday dose of about 4–6 gummies (≈ 1–1.5 g psyllium); they're a fibre supplement, not sweets.

Mortar & Kettle · MORTARANDKETTLE.COM

DIET SUPPORT · №038

Carminative Digestive Gummies

Name: Carminative Digestive Gummies
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 20 batches
Ingredients: 350 ml filtered water; 2 g cumin seeds; 2 g fennel seeds; 2 g anise seeds; 1.5 g chamomile flowers; 0.7 g dried mint; 4 g agar agar; 5 g psyllium husk; 0.1 g monk fruit extract

a strong carminative tea, set into sugar-free gummies with a psyllium fibre lift

A digestive tea you can pocket: cumin, fennel, aniseed, chamomile, and mint steeped strong, then set with agar into small sugar-free gummies. Each one carries a light dose of psyllium husk — a soluble fibre that swells into a gel — so a midday handful gives you the whole herb hit plus a gentle fibre top-up. Sweetened with nothing but a pinch of monk fruit, they lean on the carminative herbs rather than sugar. The set is the fussy part: the agar has to reach a real boil to gel, and the psyllium thickens the moment it hits the warm tea, so you weigh both precisely and move fast into the moulds.

Medium~50 minExacting

SweetEarthyFloralMintyDigestiveCalming

Carminative Digestive Gummies · finished

Method

Check off each step as you go. Your progress is saved. Amounts below already match your batch size.

Steep the tea, covered: bring the water to a bare simmer, add the cumin, fennel, aniseed, chamomile, and mint, cover tightly, and steep 12–15 minutes. Covering matters — the actives are volatile oils that steam off in an open pot.

▸350 mlfiltered water▸2 gcumin seeds▸2 gfennel seeds▸2 ganise seeds▸1.5 gchamomile flowers▸0.7 gdried mint

12–15 min · covered

Strain and measure: strain through a fine sieve, pressing the solids, until you have about 250 ml of strong tea. Top up with hot water if you're short, or simmer it down uncovered if you're over.

Activate the agar: return the 250 ml tea to the pan, whisk in the agar, bring to a full boil, then simmer 2 minutes whisking constantly. Agar has to actually boil to gel — under-heating is the number-one failure.

▸4 gagar agar

2 min at a boil

Sweeten: off the heat about 30 seconds, whisk in the monk fruit. Taste on a cool spoon — pure extract is 150–250× as sweet as sugar, so a pinch is plenty.

▸0.1 gmonk fruit extract

Add the psyllium and move fast: whisk in the psyllium hard and fast, then spoon or press it straight into silicone moulds. It thickens on contact and agar sets at about 40°C, so you have only 60–90 seconds of working time.

▸5 gpsyllium husk

work within 60–90 s

Set and unmould: set at room temperature about 20 minutes, then chill 30 minutes before unmoulding.

20 min set + 30 min chill

“Support you can portion: weigh it true, set it clean, and let the fibre do the quiet work.”

THE MORTAR & KETTLE METHOD

The chemistry

SKELETAL STRUCTURES

5 compounds carry this recipe. Here is what each one does and, where we have it, what it actually looks like.

C₁₀H₁₂O

anethole

C₁₀H₁₂O

The licorice-sweet oil shared by fennel and aniseed, and the classic carminative note: it relaxes the smooth muscle of the gut, which is the old case for a cup of fennel after a heavy meal.

SweetDigestive

C₁₀H₁₂O

cuminaldehyde

C₁₀H₁₂O

The warm, green, faintly bitter aldehyde that is the smell of cumin, and part of why cumin has a long reputation for settling a heavy stomach.

EarthyDigestive

C₁₅H₂₆O

α-bisabolol

C₁₅H₂₆O

The soft, faintly floral alcohol that carries much of chamomile's calm: gentle, anti-inflammatory, and antispasmodic, easing the gut rather than stimulating it.

FloralCalming

C₁₀H₂₀O

menthol

C₁₀H₂₀O

The cooling compound of mint, an antispasmodic that relaxes the gut wall — the reason peppermint is the other classic settle-the-stomach herb.

Minty

(C₅H₈O₄)ₙ

arabinoxylan

(C₅H₈O₄)ₙ

The soluble fibre that makes psyllium swell into a gel with water. It adds gentle bulk and slows digestion — the quiet 'diet support' behind the gummies, and the reason they have to be taken with plenty of water.

Digestive

Storage

SHELF LIFE

No sugar and no preservatives, plus water and herbs, means these mould fast.
Keep them refrigerated in an airtight container and eat within 5–7 days, or freeze them.

Possible side effects

USE WITH CARE

Always take these with a full glass of water — psyllium needs fluid to swell safely.
Keep to the midday dose of about 4–6 gummies (≈ 1–1.5 g psyllium); they're a fibre supplement, not sweets.