Many people can confirm that cough drops are very useful when it comes to the treatment of coughing and sore throat. Some of them can completely solve these problems in a matter of a few days. It is good to mention that most of the cough drops in the stores contain more than the usual herbs that are part of their names.
These cough drops come with chemical substances like artificial sweeteners, fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes, etc. Commercial cough drops can be helpful for throat-related problems, but they can cause many other health problems. Luckily, you can make your own cough drops easily and quickly!
Homemade Herbal Cough Drops
There is no adult person or a kid that won’t love these cough drops. Although the recipe I am sharing is precise, don’t forget to reduce the herbal infusion and add some sugar in order to avoid hardening. In this way, you will get natural cough drops with the necessary hardness.
In case you want to avoid sugar, you can use stevia or maple syrup as an alternative way to make the cough drops sweeter.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup of strong herbal infusion (This herbal infusion can be a mixture of several herbs like licorice root, chamomile, ginger, cinnamon, etc. Use approximately one tablespoon of each of these herbs and keep in mind that you don’t have to be very precise – choose the herbs that you like the most).
- ½ cup of organic blackstrap molasses.
- 1 cup of raw organic sugar. A mixture of sugar and molasses will lead to stability and consistency in the entire mixture.
- Sugar or herbs that come in powdered form. You can also use powdered stevia and slippery instead of these two ingredients.
Equipment:
- Heavy-duty pan.
- Candy thermometer.
- Candy molds. You can either buy them in your local store or create them by using a layer of powdered sugar indented with half a teaspoon.
Preparation:
Take one or two cups of water (depending on the number of herbs you have chosen) and place them in the pan. Cover the pan while boiling and reduce the heat to the lowest level. Let the herbal infusion steep for around 20 minutes at this temperature. After that, pour the herbs through some porous device. Make a combination of ½ cup of an herbal infusion, organic blackstrap molasses, and sugar in your heavy-duty saucepan. Use your candy thermometer.
Now increase the temperature and heat the mixture on medium-high heat. Stir it every few seconds and wait until the temperature reaches 300 degrees. It is easy to notice that you are at the end of the process – the mixture will begin to thicken. Of course, if you notice an unpleasant burning smell it is better to remove the pan from the source of heat.
Once the mixture is ready, pour it into the molds. Do it carefully because you can easily miss these molds. Once the mixture is cooled down, cover the drops with powdered sugar or stevia leaf and slippery elm.
The best way to keep this mixture safe is by storing it in a freezer or fridge.
Final notes
Using candy molds to create homemade herbal cough drops is not the only option. You can also use a powdered sugar candy mold for example. Simply place a layer of powdered sugar in a casserole dish and with the help of a 1/3 tablespoon, you can create circular indentations in the sugar. Once the mixture is ready, pour it into these handmade molds!
Original recipe: The Nerdy Farm Wife
