Three short notes

Where to keep the jar

Pectin gummies soften in heat. Left on a sunny windowsill through August they can stick together; moved to a cupboard they behave normally again.

The label says it plainly enough — store in a cool, dry place — and it is the one piece of handling advice a gummy actually needs. A kitchen cupboard away from the hob is fine. The fridge is not necessary and tends to make them harder than they should be.

It matters more on the six jar box than the two, simply because five of those jars sit unopened for months before their turn comes.

Pectin, gelatine, and what the vegetarian mark means

Two things set a gummy: gelatine, which comes from animal collagen, or pectin, which comes from fruit. This one uses pectin, and the other ingredients listed beside it are corn syrup, cane sugar, water, citric acid, natural flavour, sodium citrate, tapioca starch and beet root extract for colour.

That is what stands behind the vegetarian and dairy free marks on the seller's pages. It is a statement about the base rather than about the nutrients, which are the same compounds either way.

There is a small irony worth noting. A gelatine gummy would contain collagen, in the sense that gelatine is what collagen becomes when it is cooked. This one, despite the name, contains none.

Stacking labels without doubling up

Plenty of people take something else already. The useful thing about a panel with numbers on it is that two labels can be added together.

Work down the column. Vitamin A here is 630 mcg, 70 per cent of a daily value; a standard multivitamin often carries a similar figure, and the two stack. Vitamin B12 is 250 per cent, folate 111, B6 118, and biotin sits far above everything at 5000 mcg against a daily value of 30.

None of that is a verdict. It is arithmetic, and it is only possible because every figure is printed. A blend that lists names without amounts cannot be added to anything.

The Small Entries On The Panel: Zinc, Iodine, Choline And Inositol

Zinc, iodine, choline and inositol: what each amount is and what it is measured against. Read the full note.

A Week-By-Week Log To Keep During Your First Jar

What to write down each week of your first jar, and how to read your own notes honestly. Read the full note.

Travelling With A Jar: Heat, Bags And Keeping The Habit

Heat, bags, airport security and time zones: how to keep a gummy routine going on the road. Read the full note.