Herbal Harvest Cough Drops Recipes

HOMEMADE HONEY HERBAL COUGH DROPS

Steps:

• Pour 1 ½ cups of boiling water over the herbs of your choice.
• Allow the herbs to steep for at least 20 minutes or until the water is cool. Squeeze the liquid out of the herbs and discard them. Strain the resulting tea.
• Combine your herbal tea with the honey in a small, deep saucepan with a heavy bottom.
• Clip a candy thermometer to the side, with the tip in the liquid but not touching the bottom. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring frequently, until the temperature reaches 300°F.
• As the mixture thickens and condenses, you may need to tip the pan sideways to take an accurate reading.
• While the syrup is cooking down, prepare your pan. It's also a good time to cut pieces of waxed paper or cellophane to package your drops. I use wax paper, cut into 3-inch-by-4-inch rectangles.
• When your syrup reaches 300°F, or the "hard drop stage," immediately pour it into your prepared pan to cool, using a silicone scraper to get it all out of the saucepan.
• Immediately fill the saucepan with hot water.
• Allow the mixture to cool until you can just handle it without burning your hands. This will take 15 to 30 minutes.
• Lay out a clean silicone sheet or length of wax paper to work on and dust it with the anti-stick powder of your choice.
• When you can handle the mixture use a knife or scissors (dip into cold water between cuts to minimize sticking) to cut the hardening mixture into long strips and then drop-sized bits and place them on your powdered work surface.
• You can shape them a little to round the corners as you go, but don't dawdle, as the workable stage is fleeting.
• Once they are all shaped, toss them, a few at a time, into a jar with ¼ cup of your anti-stick powder, and give it a shake to cover all sides.
• Tap off the excess and wrap each one securely. Then place the wrapped drops in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
• Store your jar in a cool location and use your drops as needed to soothe your throat and calm coughs.

HERBAL HARVEST COUGH DROPS

Steps:

• Making the tea: These cough drops are a way to use some of the herbs you have grown or that you find growing near you. I go out and collect everything that is abundant and have properties that are good for cough drops (expectorant, anti-microbial, mucilaginous). Some herbs I have used are elecampane, thyme, sage, echinacea, marshmallow, angelica, elder flowers, mullein and comfrey.
• I collect everything and throw all the roots in a pot and simmer these for about 30 minutes then throw in the leafy herbs and simmer some more. I start with about 1 quart of water. After the herbs have simmered for 10 minutes or so I cool it down and strain out the herbs then put the tea back on the stove and simmer until the volume of liquid is reduced to 1 cup.
• When the tea is finished, combine it with the sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved then lower heat and cook without stirring until the temperature reaches 300 degree. This takes a long time! When the mixture reaches 300 degrees remove it from the heat and stir in your essential oils. I used peppermint and eucalyptus. Most of the oil evaporates quickly so I add the oil, stir briefly then pour the syrup onto a baking sheet.
• The syrup immediately begins to harden. As soon as I can touch it and pull up the edges I start cutting strips and snipping them into little pieces. You have to work fast. I got behind on one batch and had to put chunks in a bag and crack them into pieces.
• Notes: These turn out a lot like the ricola cough drops. If you don't have fresh herbs I'm sure you could substitute dried herbs but I haven't tried out proportions yet. You can add horehound but don't put in too much.