The Princess rarely gets sick, yet in the last school term she managed three colds within a ten week period. Unfortunately, when she gets sick we all suffer. There is little I can do to prevent the illnesses, I know, but that will not stop me trying. I am now employing everything in my home remedy arsenal to ward off the common cold in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the last term. Whilst it is difficult to get her to swallow large pills of olive leaf extract or zinc, she is more than happy to munch on these cold busting coconut gummie snacks.
Everybody has a home remedy to either keep colds and flu at bay, or to help ease the symptoms if you weren’t that successful in avoiding the virus in the first place. Most of these remedies seem to feature ginger, turmeric and/or honey. All I had to do was get them into gummie form. Enter the coconut milk. Coconut oil is high in lauric acid, which is anti-bacterial, anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory. A good coconut milk will be high in coconut oil, yet still be thin enough when heated to dissolve the gelatin. Be wary when buying your coconut milk. Some are loaded with gums and thickeners, even the organic ones, so make sure you read the label before buying. Personally, I purchase conventional coconut milk as research indicates that even in plantations where pesticides are used, no pesticide residue can be detected within the coconut itself.
The key ingredient in these gummies though is the gelatine. It is what takes this recipe from a creamy drink to something you can really get your teeth into. Gelatine is so much more than just a setting agent, as I explained when I made the strawberry marshmallows. What better way to get something with health benefits into a child than to dress it up as something sweet.
I coloured my gummies with a natural orange food colouring. A totally unnecessary step but it does make them look more appealing to a child. Just remember that the base colour of these gummies is the yellow-brown of the turmeric and unrefined sugar, so if you wish to colour them make sure you choose a colour that will work with this.
The Princess has just started a new school term and has been enjoying a gummie or two after school each day. I know it is early days but so far there is no sign of a cold, whereas by this time last term she had already developed the first one. Fingers crossed!
These gummies are barely sweet as we prefer them that way. Additional sugar or honey may be required if you prefer them to be sweeter. Taste the mixture before you add the gelatine and adjust the sweetness accordingly.
The number of gummies this recipe makes is entirely dependant on the size of your moulds. Adjust the size of the mould to the size of the child, but don't make them too big or they become a bit much.
All Tablespoon measurements in this recipe are 15ml
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar or honey (or more to taste)
- 1 Tablespoon grated fresh turmeric (or more to taste)
- 2 Tablespoons powdered gelatine
- You will also need silicone chocolate, candy or ice cube moulds.
- Set the silicone mould(s) onto a tray and set aside
- Place the coconut milk, ginger, turmeric and coconut sugar (if using) into a small saucepan and slowly heat the liquid until it is just starting to simmer.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside for 15 - 30 minutes to allow the aromatics to infuse the coconut milk.
- Strain the coconut milk through a fine sieve, mixing the ground ginger and turmeric with a spoon to ensure you extract all the milk.
- Rinse the saucepan and add the strained coconut milk.
- If you are using honey as your sweetener, stir it in now.
- Sprinkle the gelatine over the surface of the coconut milk, whisking gently as you do so to incorporate it into the milk.
- Allow the milk to sit for 2-3 minutes, which allows the gelatine to absorb some liquid. This process is called 'blooming'. The coconut milk will turn to a thick paste, which is how it is supposed to look. Don't panic.
- Return the saucepan to a low heat, and whisk continuously until the gelatine melts and the mixture becomes smooth. You should not be able to see any little specks of gelatine remaining in the milk.
- Remove from the heat and spoon into your moulds.
- Place the moulds into the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm.
- Pop out your gummies and enjoy!
Keep the gummies in a sealed container in the fridge. They should last at least a week.
I have coloured my gummies with natural food colouring because I think they look cute. This is totally unnecessary but does make them more appealing to children. Just remember that the base colour of these is yellow-brown so choose your colouring accordingly. I used an orange food colour.
They sure look cute Tania.
Thanks Glenda 🙂
I love the Koala Bears! They are super cute!
Thanks Dora. Glad you recognised what they were 🙂
Where did you find the Kola mold? It is sooooo darn cute!
Hi Julie, I picked it up in a souvenir shop in Melbourne, but I have also seen them in souvenir shops in Perth. So if you are in Australia I would think they are reasonably easy to find. They are cute aren’t they 🙂
Would using powdered ginger and tumeric work, as I just dehydrated all my ginger for tea. Thankyou.
Hi Debbie. Sorry but to be honest I don’t know. No reason why it shouldn’t work but I haven’t tested it myself as I always have access to fresh ginger. My only thoughts would be that I find powdered ginger slightly mellower than fresh, so the ginger hum may not be as evident, and that powdered spices may change the texture of the gummie slightly. I would use a lot more of the dried powders as they are not as strong as the fresh (in my opinion), and possibly infuse the coconut milk for longer. You may not notice the powders at all in the finished gummies. Let me know how it turns out if you try it.
Where can I find the silicone mold.
Hi Crystal. The mould I used is a koala bear ice cube tray that I picked up in a tourist shop in Melbourne. If you were after that specific mould, the company that makes them is http://www.e3products.com.au/ However any silicone ice cube tray will do the trick. Hope that helps.
What brand of gelatin did you use?
Hi AnnaMaria. I have used a number of different gelatines, but my recommendation would be to use a good grass pastured gelatine if you can source it. However I have also successfully used gelatine from the local supermarket when I ran low.
could you give more than 2 a day in acute cases?
Hi Cassandra. First of all I need to stress that these gummies are food, not medicine. Having said that, we have eaten more than two in a day with no ill effects. I make quite large ones, so they are a decent snack, however if you are making smaller gummies you might wish to eat more to be satiated.
Hi! I am really excited to try these as I’m just coming off of a 3 week horrible sinus cold/infection and really want to ward off any other nasty surprises my son brings home from school 😉 If I cannot find fresh ginger and tumeric, could you suggest a quantity substitute for dry versions of the spices? Thanks so much
Silly me! You already answered my question in a previous question from someone else. Sorry about that – I was just so excited to find your recipe that I didn’t even read the comments lol
No problems at all Debra 🙂 I hope you manage to avoid further illness.
I am vegetarian and was wondering if you think agar agar would work in place of the gelatin in this recipe?
Thank you (:
Hi Lexie. I haven’t made these with agar, so I can’t say for sure. However, I would have thought that it would work if you use the appropriate amount of agar for the amount of liquid. If you do try it, I would love to know how it works out.
Hey Tania,
These are absolutely adorable, and, I imagine, so so helpful! We’ve recently started learning about the awesome health benefits of turmeric and ginger, so I am super excited to give these a try. Thank you so much for sharing <3
I hope you like them Savannah. If nothing else, they make a tasty treat 🙂
Cannot find powdered gelatine here. Is there any way to use sheets of gelatine? I would love to make these. Thanks.
Absolutely Nelly. Just follow the instructions on the packet of leaf gelatine. I can’t give you specific instructions as different brands vary in strength, but you will need to use enough to give you a firm set in 1 cup of liquid.
Tried these with powdered turmeric and fresh ginger yesterday. Taste is great but the powder makes the texture a bit pasty and interferes a bit with the gel-ing. I’m betting using powdered for both ingredients would not be very pleasing. Also, this is similar to golden milk just in gummie form; I would think adding the cinnamon and black pepper would be nice and increase the potency of these as well. Thanks for the recipe out littles loved them!
Thanks for the feedback. I’ve not tried golden milk. I will have to look the recipe up. I’m glad your kids liked them.