The Apothecary Diaries heroine Maomao is one of anime’s most quietly terrifying protagonists — a poison-obsessed apothecary who treats her own body as a lab. With Season 3 premiering October 2, 2026, we went back through what she’s actually made on screen and picked out the parts you can safely make at home.
Her emetic agents and dried bear gallbladder stayed in the show. Everything below did not.
1. The “Aphrodisiac” Chocolate-Covered Dried Fruit
Maomao and Jinshi, the intended recipient of her “vitality” chocolates. Image: official key visual, kusuriyanohitorigoto.jp
When Maomao wants to boost Jinshi’s vitality, she makes chocolate-covered dried fruit soaked in alcohol — a fun anachronism, since chocolate as we know it didn’t exist in the show’s setting. We kept the anime’s version: dried apricots and dates, briefly soaked in a splash of brandy, dipped in melted dark chocolate.
Base ingredient: Dried apricots, dates, dark chocolate, brandy
Difficulty: Easy, 20 minutes
Who it’s for: Anyone who wants an excuse to eat chocolate and call it research.
Why now: Genuinely great, zero medicinal effect, entirely worth making again before Season 3 drops.
2. Orange and Ginger Candies
What candied orange peel looks like when it’s done (reference photo). Photo: Veganbaking.net, CC BY-SA 2.0
This is Maomao’s simplest remedy and the easiest one to actually recreate — candied orange peel (Chen Pi in TCM, used for digestion and circulation) paired with candied ginger (used to settle nausea and warm the body).
Base ingredient: Orange peel, fresh ginger, sugar
Difficulty: Easy, mostly hands-off
Who it’s for: Anyone who wants a real, shelf-stable snack that happens to be anime-accurate.
Why now: This one’s basically just a real snack you’d buy at a specialty market. No notes.
3. Perilla and Ginger Cold Tea
Maomao treats colds more than once in the series with infusions built around perilla leaf (Zi Su Ye) and ginger — both real anti-inflammatory, expectorant ingredients used in actual TCM cold formulas. We steeped fresh ginger and dried perilla (sold as shiso in most Asian grocery stores) into a strong tea.
Base ingredient: Perilla leaf (shiso), fresh ginger, honey
Difficulty: Easy, 10 minutes
Who it’s for: Anyone testing whether anime medicine holds up as actual medicine.
Why now: Sharp, a little peppery, and unexpectedly good with honey. Whether it cures anything is between you and your doctor.
4. The Charcoal Question
Maomao, the show’s resident poison expert. Image: official Season 3 visual, kusuriyanohitorigoto.jp
In one of the show’s more memorable poisoning scenes, Maomao uses crushed charcoal to counteract tobacco toxin — which lines up with real activated charcoal, still used today to bind toxins in the digestive tract.
Base ingredient: Activated charcoal (commercial products only)
Difficulty: Not a DIY recipe
Who it’s for: Trivia purposes only — this one’s about knowing the science, not recreating it.
Why now: We did not eat plain charcoal for this article, but it’s worth knowing this is one of the only remedies in the entire show backed by a real emergency-medicine product. Don’t take it as an invitation to self-medicate.
5. What We Skipped (On Purpose)
| What Maomao uses | What it is | Why we skipped it |
|---|---|---|
| Emetic agent | Used to induce vomiting after a poisoning | Emergency treatment, not food |
| Dried bear gallbladder | A traditional medicine ingredient she’s fascinated by | Widely considered unethical to source today |
| Moxibustion | Burning mugwort near acupuncture points | A treatment, not something you eat |
Not everything Maomao handles is food-challenge material. The emetic agent she uses to induce vomiting after poisoning, the dried bear gallbladder she’s fascinated by (widely considered unethical to source today), and moxibustion — burning mugwort near acupuncture points — all stayed exactly where they belong: in the show.
Base ingredient: N/A — fictional-only territory
Difficulty: Do not attempt
Who it’s for: Nobody. This is the “admire from a distance” section.
Why now: Worth knowing the line between “grounded in real TCM” and “please don’t.”
There you have it — The Apothecary Diaries is one of the rare anime food challenges that leaves you with something worth making on purpose. Which of Maomao’s remedies would you actually try? Drop it in the comments or subscribe for more bite-sized anime snacks straight to your inbox.
Keep Reading: The Attack on Titan Potato Challenge: Eating Like Sasha Blouse for a Day · Jujutsu Kaisen Food: All 14 JJK Characters' Favorite Foods
Apothecary Diaries food FAQ
What food does Maomao make in The Apothecary Diaries?
Mostly medicine she can eat: the “aphrodisiac” chocolate-covered dried fruit, orange and ginger candies, and a perilla and ginger tea. Those are the three we recreate above, with notes on what to leave out.
How does Maomao throw up the poisons she tests?
In Season 1, episode 7, the madam of the Verdigris House gives Maomao a hard kick to the stomach, and the show reveals that’s how Maomao has been bringing up the poisons she tests on herself. It’s played for laughs, and it’s not something to copy at home.
When did Apothecary Diaries Season 3 start?
Season 3 premiered on October 2, 2026.
Read next: Jujutsu Kaisen Food: Every JJK Character’s Favorite Food · One Piece Food: Every Straw Hat’s Favorite Food · Demon Slayer Food: Every Character’s Favorite Food · Goku’s Diet: How Much Saiyans Eat (and How to Eat Like One)
Add NerdSnack as a preferred source on Google
The Weekly Pull
The biggest card price moves, every Friday.
The week’s biggest card and collectible price moves, plus the movie, anime and game releases worth knowing about. Sign up and get our free Black Friday 2026 price-to-beat cheat sheet. Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Related Posts:
Talk to us
Got a question, a tip or a request? Email us.
A real person reads every message at hello@nerdsnack.com, and we usually reply within 1–2 business days.
Prefer a form? Use our contact page.
