DIY HONEY GINGER COUGH DROPS
We are entering not only the festive time of the year, but also the time of the year when colds, sore throat, and flu are most active in the Northern Hemisphere. I was never a big fan of modern medicine when it came to treating a runny nose, sore throat or nasty cough among other unpleasant symptoms. I avoided antibiotics, pain medicine, and over the counter medications as much as I could. However, what can you do if you are definitely not feeling well? A few years into SCD, I had improved my immune system sufficiently enough for symptoms to become more manageable and easier to treat with natural remedies. Today, I have a wide variety of remedies and treatments that enable my family and I to combat seasonal infections without any mainstream medications. I agree that Western medicine does have a place in some life-threatening situations, but in general, I believe that strengthening the immune system with proper diet and detoxification to fight chronic and acute infections is the better path and also leads to long-term health improvement. Once the immune system is stronger, you experience that not only chronic inflammation is diminishing, but that acute infections are less frequent and also run a shorter and milder course.
My favorite natural remedies are near infrared heat light, food-grade 3% hydrogen peroxide, salt baths, ginger tea, and oil of oregano. These work great for colds, sinus infections, ear infections, and cough as well as sore throat.
Recently, my middle daughter developed a nasty cough which, although she had recovered from a cold, seemed to linger longer than usual and was rather uncomfortable for her. This lead to my first attempt in making my own cough drops, and they turned out be not only delicious, but also effective.
For the candy, I used honey and apple cider vinegar and boiled it to reach 300° F/150° C. Then I added fresh ginger juice and eucalyptus essential oil. Ingesting essential oils gets a lot of controversy on the internet and is not recommended by the FDA. Looking through the different articles, I came to the conclusion that the danger lies in undiluted oils as well as some oil types that are not recommended for ingestion. A few essential oils are fine to ingest, among them diluted eucalyptus oil. It is also commonly used in commercial cough drops as well as toothpaste that are approved by the FDA. I myself feel comfortable adding a few drops to my natural remedies but this decision is up to you and if you are unsure about using them, you can simply omit the eucalyptus oil and stick to the fresh ginger juice, which will also help soothe the throat. To keep the drops from sticking together, I rolled them in Vitamin C crystals and stored them in the refrigerator. If you want an even more natural source of Vitamin C, I would highly recommend Acerola cherry powder, which works just the same for the recipe. I also like to use it as fall/winter supplement for the kids.
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups honey
1/8 cup raw apple cider vinegar
1 tsp ginger juice or 1” piece of ginger, peeled and sliced ( add the juice at the end of the boiling time, slices need to be added to the boiling the honey immediately)
4 drops eucalyptus essential oil (optional, read above about ingesting essential oils)
Vitamin C crystals or Acerola cherry powder for dusting
tools: candy thermometer, silicone molds
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the honey and vinegar into a medium saucepan. Add the ginger slices here if you’re using these. Attach the candy thermometer to the rim of the pot. Bring the honey to a boil. Reduce the temperature a little, but keep the honey boiling until the temperature on the thermometer reaches the hard crack stage of the candy at 300° F/150° C. You can carefully test it by dropping a little bit of hot honey into a jar with ice cold water. The honey should harden to a solid candy. At this point, immediately remove the pot from the heat. If you’re using ginger juice, stir it in. Stir in the eucalyptus oil. Let cool for a couple of minutes. Carefully pour the honey mixture into the silicone molds. Let cool completely. Refrigerate for an hour, then remove the candy from the molds and roll in vitamin C crystals. Add the candy to a container in a single layer and make sure to place parchment paper in between layers. Refrigerate for storage.
Tip for candy-making: always keep an eye on the boiling honey and if necessary, adjust the temperature!
MY LATEST RECIPES
Welcome to CREATING HEALTHY TIMES!
My name is Ulrike. I created this website to share my dietary approach to natural healing and delicious sugar, grain, and lactose-free recipes. I found that, provided with the right nutrition, the body itself is one of the greatest healers.
Find out what I learned on my nine-year journey with the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, and get valuable information about natural healing
ABOUT ME
Try my delicious sugar, grain, and lactose-free recipes
RECIPES
