Don’t you think pregnancy is such an amazing and beautiful time? I seriously loved being pregnant. What I didn’t love was the nasty food aversions I had during the first few months. And while I can’t really complain about my mild morning sickness, I can tell you that I ate more than my fair share of ginger to help with the first trimester “blahs.”
I made the Mint-Ginger Preggo Pills as my submission to the 4th week trial of So You Think You’re Crafty. I most definitely will be using them with my next pregnancy!
Mint-Ginger Preggo Pills
Materials:
– 2/3 c fresh ginger
– 1/3 c fresh mint
– 2 1/2 c water
– 2 c sugar
– 2 tbsp corn syrup
– package powdered sugar (enough to fill your tray)
Instructions:
1. Peel and dice your fresh ginger. Boil and reduce to simmer for 20 minutes in water. Take off heat and throw in your fresh mint. Allow mint to infuse for 10 minutes. Strain. You should have approx. 1 c of ginger/mint infused water. If not, add a little water to make it equal.
2. While you wait for your ginger to infuse, pour powdered sugar onto a baking sheet. Find something to make your indentations with. A pen, small bottle, toy…it really doesn’t matter as long as it’s mouth sized.
3. In a large saucepan, add infused liquid, sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Lower heat until you have a steady simmer. Keep a close eye on your pan while you bring the liquid to 290-300 degrees (hard crack). You know you’re good to go if you can drop a bit into a glass of water and it becomes hard, not chewy.
(Ok. Break. This is where I have to pause and tell you that I screwed up my first batch. I blame two things. One, my candy thermometer was off slightly and two, my tendency toward impatience. I should have tested my thermometer in just plain boiling water first (thermometer should read 100 C or 212 F) and I shouldn’t have left the kitchen to check my email. I highly suggest you Google “hard candy recipes” to get a better idea of how real cooks make hard candy and apply some of their hints to this recipe!)
4. Carefully spoon mixture into the powdered sugar molds. This was the best part, it’s crazy to see the liquid move over the sugar. Wait to cool completely before removing and wrapping with waxed paper.
5. If you’ll be gifting these, you can place them in an inexpensive small mason jar (found at most craft stores) and embellish with a meaningful scrapbook thingy (Yes, “thingy” is the official name of those). The recipient can either use them by themselves or pop a few in a hot cup of water for an easy herbal tea.
Hope they help, Emilie!
Comments & Reviews
Andrea McMann says
Thanks so much for this!! I voted for you, by the way. 🙂 I could really use these right about now. Now I’m off to the supermarket to buy some ginger!!
bumblev says
Thanks for the vote, hope they help!
Emilie Ahern says
Genius!
Thank you SO much!
I will let you know how they work out. I voted for you on this week because I loved this idea!
bumblev says
Thanks for the vote and for giving me motivation to work on this tutorial quickly! 🙂
Sarah says
I’m easily prone to nausea during the summer with the heat. I was looking online for creative ideas for nausea cures, and I found this. I usually just suck on a spearmint Starlight Mint or add one to ginger tea, but this seems like a really cool idea to try. Pregnancy isn’t my cause, but I’m sure I will love this anyway! Thank you!
bumblev says
That’s a great idea, I didn’t even think of that!
Celeste says
Some lemon might not be amiss in this as well. I like this idea 🙂
Not pregnant or brave enough to try to make candy at this point but if either situation changes I’m all over this like the foil wrapper on a Hershy’s Kiss!
bumblev says
I was thinking some lemon zest added with the mint would have been nice too!
Sarah says
This would also be a cute bon voyage gift for someone who’s going on a cruise and afraid of getting sea sick. I couldn’t cruise without ginger!
bumblev says
What a sweet idea!
Alyse says
One day, when I’m pregnant, I’m going to make these candies. This looks like so much fun!
bumblev says
Nah, you can make them just because! 🙂
Lenka says
This is such a great idea! (I almost never leave comments, so you know I love the idea when I actually comment on it8) I really love it, have to try…soon…husband will probably go crazy 8) Anyway thanks!
Lenka says
I just realized I have a question – I am from Slovakia (Central Europe) and I am not sure I can buy corn syrup here. Do you think there is anything I could do about that?
Thanks!
bumblev says
I did some web searching and I found a forum subject about this exact same question:
http://apps.exploratorium.edu/cgi-bin/yabb2-cooking/YaBB.pl?num=1149560368/10
They kept on mentioning substituting something called Lyle’s Golden Syrup. Perhaps that’ll be easier for you to find?
Here’s another page with some suggestions:
http://www.ochef.com/256.htm
Great question, by the way. We’re always looking for ways to cut out processed corn products!
AGGY says
SUB FOR HONEY
Traditional Chef says
In some Asian cultures, use of ginger during the first trimester is to be avoided. It’s one of those ingredients that “if everything is good, it makes it better, but if something is not right, it makes it worse.”
So if you have a robust first trimester in progress and a good reproductive history, then it should be OK else it should be avoided.
Best of luck.
bumblev says
Thanks for that input!
Katrina says
I love this idea!
It could be used for so much more than just morning sickness, my mom always gave me ginger and peppermint (ginger ale and peppermint candies) when I was sick as a kid and had an upset stomach.
The little container you have makes me want to build my own 1880’s wild west apothecary!
bumblev says
Ooo, I love the idea of a pantry apothecary!
Reza says
Hi,
Your thermometer might be off because in an elevation the water boils at a lower temperature. ie Boiling temperature at 5000 feet is 202°F.
Kendra says
I just made these tonight, my first try at hard candy. I think I was taking too long spooning the candy into the sugar mold because the stuff in the pot hardened too much when I got about halfway through, so I only got half a batch of candy from it. Maybe I’ll cut the recipe in half next time.
But they are so delicious and I think now that I know how to make hard candies, I’m going to experiment with different flavors. Thank you so much!
Despina says
I will definitely try it. They look fantastic. Thanks for the idea
Lee says
PLEASE don’t tell me you put CORN syrup in that!!???? Beware, you need to educate yourself about the genetically modified food supply in our markets and diet, especially with your new little one and all that you love!
Sarah says
Lee, as somebody who generally agrees with your viewpoint… DAMN you are a busybody. If you want to change people’s hearts and minds, being a know-it-all jerk is not going to do that. Just FYI.
Sarah says
This looks so awesome, thanks for posting this! *Almost* 😉 makes me wish I were back in the first trimester so I could have a good excuse to make these for myself. J/k, I think I’ll make them anyway just to have on hand – and like you suggested, as a great gift for a new pregnant friend! Found your blog through SYTYC and love it.
Apryl says
If only I had found this a few weeks ago when I was still vomitting for entertainment (morning sickness that lasted FOREVER)
bekki says
hi. i saw this recipe and thought it was amazing. i am wanting to start a online store with homemade things like this, would it be ok if i sold them? (is this a general recipe or a recipe you made? i dont want to take this wonderful idea from you.) Thank you. bekki
Jessica says
Thank you very much for this. My friend is having twin boys and she has been sick the entire time. These are so wonderful. After taking them she felt so much better. Thanks again.
Kelly says
I just love what you had to say here… Also, the recipe is awesome!! I will have to tell my pregnant friends! All of us need to make time to “chill out”. Even, if it is only to take a short drive alone and listen to your favorite tune, loudly. 🙂
Have a wonderful holiday!! Kelly
Noel says
Thanks so much for this idea! I made them for my newly pregnant sister-in-law as a Christmas gift and they were a big hit. I couldn’t find corn syrup at the local grocery store, so I used Agave Nectar instead. It seemed to work great! Thanks again!
clare says
Will it still work if I don’t use ginger? It won’t cure nausea but i’m gifting these and they don’t like ginger. Do I just skip the infusing and simmer the water?
Lindsey says
Could you make these in a more simple candy mold? The powdered sugar just looks like a mess to me. Am I mistaken?
bumblev says
Absolutely, if you have one on hand. The thin layer of powered sugar around each drop is kinda a nice side effect, though!
Seth says
I thought my wife and I were the only ones to use Preggo! Too funny. Great post; I’ll have to try these although it does look a bit beyond my capabilities.
Amy says
So I’ve tried this recipe twice, and both times the batch has granulated right after I hit the hard ball phase. The temperature doesn’t go past 250 on the thermometer, but just to make sure I’m testing in water too… What am I doing wrong??? I want to make these so badly, and I’m ending up with a pot of ginger flavored sugar. Seriously… just hot sugar in a pot. It’s as if all of the moisture suddenly just evaporates, but the mixture seems to skip the crack phases. Any tips?
cindy says
You have to be patient. When it starts to boil – set a timer for 20 minutes. Make sure your stove is not on maximum. Let it boil. Don’t STIR until your temp hits 200o. Sit back, drink a coffee, or something. Trust me. Stir every 2 or 3 minutes until the thermometer hits 275o. Then take it off the heat and stir like mad. you will see the heat rise. Pour Quickly. You Only have 1 minute until it starts to seize. If you can get more then 3/4 of the syrup into your mold you have done a Great Job. You did not wait long enough. I was going to give up, but I just let the water boil off a little longer, And it worked so well, I did it again. I have enough Candy to last a year now.
Virginia says
Like Amy said above: I had the exact same problem.. I think there is not enough liquid in the recipe… I know that granulation can happen when sugar crystals are reintroduced into the liquid after it has reached boiling point, but I don’t know for sure that this is what happened… Am I missing something? I think I am going to try again, but use a wet pastry brush to sweep the sides of the pans so that the boiling liquid doesn’t come into contact with a sugar crystal and turn the whole pan into ginger sugar again… I am so nauseous, and was SO looking forward to these! Hopefully I can get the hang of it!
Emily says
A friend of mine was suffering badly from morning sickness, so I tried these substituting mint leaves for sliced-up lemon peel. I ended up with ginger lemon candies, and she reported that the day I brought them over was the last day she was sick. I have filed these away for my own use in a couple years. Thanks a bunch!!
Andrea says
Made these for A friend today. Not only were they incredibly easy (not a single problem and the end result was perfect) but they were so much FUN!!! Made a double batch. Only issue: I used sooooo much ginger, but hardly tasted it. Maybe some ground ginger in the pot as well??
Sacha says
Oh, you’ve made me so happy! Long ago, living in PA, we found Moravian Star tea drops – little flavored candies you add to a cup of tea to sweeten and flavor it. I’ve been wanting to find a recipe that looked good enough to recreate them, and your recipe and the shaping method look right up my alley! Thank you!
Stacey says
Great recipe. I’m a doula in Utah and want to make these for my clients. Candy is a fine art though… hopefully I don’t burn them!
bumblev says
What a sweet idea! Pun intended. 😉 Yay for doulas!
Cindy says
Am making these for my daughter in law immediately! She’s in that, “do you have any ginger ale?” stage…..I remember it vividly. Great idea. Thanks!
Cindy says
Oh, where do you find the little wrappers?
bumblev says
What an amazing mother-in-law you are! I just cut little rectangular pieces from wax paper. Hope she enjoys them!
Cindy H. says
Awww, thank you! She’s a very special sweetie. I wondered if that’s what you’d used. Makes perfect sense. Bought the ginger root today, cut the mint from the garden tomorrow and will get busy!
Chelsea says
I wanna give these a try but have a few questions. First, about how many candies does this make? And second, do you have to wrap them? If I just put them I. A container, will they stick together?
bumblev says
I made these quite a while ago but if I remember correctly, it made a ton. Like 100+…I think. Also, the powered sugar prevented mine from sticking together but I don’t know if that would last long-term or with hot/humid weather. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
Thierry says
My son (14) and daughter (24) get car sick all the time and I usually get sick to my stomach when I take my meds. I keep ginger gum with me all the time but this is a wonderful idea that even my grand-daughters could use. Thanks for sharing the idea.
Monique says
Do you know the average shelf life of these candies? 🙂
Rudy Callihan says
Nice job, c’est un grand poteau. L’info est bon à savoir!
tiffany says
how long are these good for? like how long can they sit on the shelf?
Jewel says
I’m glad I stumbled on this recipe. I have severe gastroparesis (paralyzed stomach) so I literally have nausea every day of my life. I drink ginger and mint tea often but most of my stomach had to be removed and hold only a few ounces. Drinking too much too quickly causes me to vomit.
This seems like I should get the same benefits without over filling my stomach. Thanks for sharing!
Vanessa Brady says
Hi Jewel, I hope they help!
griscelda says
These turned out wonderful! I made them for a friend, and saved a few for myself to deal with non-pregnancy nausea- love them! Reading all the comments helped. I didn’t have corn syrup so I used agave and they turned out perfectly. Maybe it was the size holes I made for the pills (smallish), but I easily filled two cookie sheets worth with this batch. Thanks for the great recipe!