I'll show you how to make your own cough drops. With Xylitol*, ginger, honey and herbs will quickly put an end to sore throats, hoarseness and other cold symptoms.
Scratchy throat, hoarseness, coughing - somehow we all get it at least once a year. Usually much more often, unfortunately. The constant coughing and the feeling of a dry throat can be very painful.
The first waves of colds have reached us. This year a little later than usual, but they have us firmly in their grip.
The range of cold remedies available in pharmacies and supermarkets is growing. From cough syrup to pastilles, everything is on offer.
I can help you leave the symptoms of a cold behind you quickly. With a great home remedy. You can make your own cough drops.
When your nose is running, your throat is scratchy and your head feels sore, these little candies can be a real boon.
In fact, homemade cough drops contain a large amount of healthy ingredients. They disinfect, heal and have a calming effect on our body. At least if you rely on homemade cough drops.
Those who reach for the sweets early enough, can prevent the common cold.
Sucking these little cough killers soothes your throat, loosens mucus and fights the scratching in your throat. On top of that, you get fresh breath and a clear head.
So easy you can make cough syrup yourself
Table of contents
Why you should make cough drops yourself
Purchased cough drops contain vast amounts of Sugar and many other sweeteners. You can look in vain for real herbs in most cough drops. Here is used with Flavorings and artificial color additives.
But that's not all. People who buy and eat cough drops very often consume three different sugars and sweeteners.
On top of that, there are acidifiers and artificially produced vitamins. Most of the cough sweets are flavored with herbal extracts. If you're lucky, you'll get a serving of Eucalyptus oil*.
The actual active ingredients usually make up no more than 1 % of the total recipe.
Why store-bought candies still work against cough? During sucking, our body produces more saliva. This moistens the throat and suppresses coughing.
However, one cannot speak of a real cure. As soon as the candy dissolved, the cold symptoms start all over again.
The sugar in cough drops also promotes the growth of bacteria in the mouth. This results in a greater likelihood of developing tooth decay.
These are all good reasons to make your own cough drops. As you can see in the recipe for these homemade cough drops, DIY candies are made from "real" ingredients.
Besides they are in the twinkling of an eye prepared. You can also make a small stock and be ready for the next cold.
What is special about homemade cough drops
Unlike other recipes for cough lozenges we resort to Birch sugar* and honey for these cough drops.
Birch sugar* leaves no chance for caries bacteria. So you're doing something good for your teeth at the same time. And honey soothes a sore throat. It soothes and disinfects the throat.
Sage contains essential oils. On our mouth and throat mucosa, they have an anti-inflammatory and soothing effect. The medicinal plant helps very quickly, especially with dry cough.
Lemon provides a whole lot of vitamin C. This makes it much more difficult for pathogens to survive.
Fresh Ginger is known to promote the self-healing powers of our body. The ginger root has an antibacterial effect, relieves pain and has an expectorant power. Ginger clears the nose and clears the head.
Thyme is the cough herb par excellence. The medicinal herb loosens phlegm, quiets coughs and disinfects our throat. It helps us cough up the mucus and inhibits the proliferation of bacteria.
Honey made our throat no longer feel so dry and scratchy. It alerts the defenses of our body and thus fights the infection of the upper respiratory tract.
Other herbs and spices you can use for throat pastilles
- Cinnamon* not only tastes delicious, it is often used for flu-like infections. This is because the powder of cinnamon bark warms us from the inside. In addition Cinnamon* anti-inflammatory effects.
- Peppermint soothes our body during the rigors of the common cold. Mint has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Its high menthol content has an expectorant effect.
- Cloves taste good not only in mulled wine or pear puree. The cloves fight bacteria and are full of powerful antioxidants.
- Ribwort is known for its effect on coughs. The plant contains mucilage, which soothes the cough. They help the immune system to regenerate.
This is the ultimate cold killer!
Recipe: make your own cough sweets
Are you ready? Let's get started. Here you will find a long version of the recipe with very detailed instructions. If you've made candy yourself before, you'll find a short version of the instructions at the end of the post.
Here comes a detailed step-by-step guide, for those who have never made cough drops themselves.
These instructions will make enough for about 30 candies - if you make them thin on the baking paper like I did. You can also pour them into chocolate molds, but more on that in a moment.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon sage
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 cm ginger
- 100 g Birch sugar*
- 2 drops Eucalyptus oil*
- 1 tsp honey
You will also need for the preparation of the cough drops
- 1 pot, 1 colander and 1 cooking spoon
- Empty chocolate wrapper, ice cube tray or baking paper
Prepare the herbs
You can work with fresh or dried herbs. This time I take fresh sage and thyme from the garden. Especially the fresh thyme tastes much more intense. Sage is also very dominant when dried.
Wash the herbs thoroughly and chop them with a very sharp knife. Why do I emphasize that the knife should be very sharp? If the blade is dull, then you will push the essential oils onto the board. So they don't end up in the candy in such a large amount.
The finer and thinner you cut the herbs, the more pleasant the candies will be to suck later.
Grate the lemon and ginger
If you don't have lemon on hand, you can leave it out. But I would recommend it to you, because it brings a very pleasant taste to the recipe. The same goes for ginger, by the way.
Grate the lemon peel with a fine vegetable grater and set the lemon zest aside.
Repeat the process with the ginger. However, you must peel it first. Remove the peel best with a teaspoon. To do this, take the whole tuber in your hands and scrape off the peel with the ladle.
This way you don't waste as much of the ginger as you usually do with a knife.
Melt the birch sugar
Now you give the Birch sugar* in a small saucepan. Place the hob on a medium heat and heat the Birch sugar* over a medium heat. Add the lemon juice before the sugar has melted.
You have to Xylitol* Stir constantly so that it is evenly warm on all sides and does not burn.
Ready is the base mass.
Stir in herbs and lemon
Now come honey and Eucalyptus oil* to this. Mix well and stir.
Finally, add the finely chopped herbs, lemon zest and ginger. Stir them in quickly and then start with the candies.
Making cough drops
Drop the cough drops with a tablespoon onto baking paper. They will set within a few minutes. Nevertheless, work carefully! The sugar mass is very hot and can cause burns if it gets on your fingers.
All you have to do is place the baking paper on the countertop and you can have the candy in a jar in 5 minutes.
For those who like larger or more uniform candies, it is best to fill the liquid mixture into ice cube molds or praline molds.
I recommend using silicone ice cube molds because the candies are easier to remove from them. In classic molds, they tend to stick and break when removed.
Make cough drops yourself without sugar
Du benötigst
- 1 EL Sage
- 1 EL Thyme
- 1 TL Lemon zest
- ½ cm Ginger
- 100 g Birch sugar
- 1 Lemon
- 2 Drop Eucalyptus oil
- 1 TL Honey
Equipment
- Pot
- Spoon
- Baking paper
Anleitung
- Cut the sage and thyme into very small pieces. The finer, the better.1 tablespoon sage, 1 tablespoon thyme
- Grab a vegetable grater and grate lemon zest.1 tsp lemon zest
- Peel the ginger and grate it with the vegetable grater.½ cm ginger
- Put the birch sugar in a saucepan. Heat it on medium heat, stirring constantly. This takes about 10 minutes.100 g birch sugar
- When the birch sugar has melted, add the juice of one lemon. Stir in herbs, ginger and lemon zest. Finally, add the eucalyptus oil and honey.1 lemon, 2 drops of eucalyptus oil, 1 tsp honey
- Drop the finished mixture with a teaspoon onto baking paper. Alternatively, you can also fill the mass into praline molds.
- The cough drops are cooled down within a few minutes. But be careful with the liquid sugar mass - it is really very hot!
These are the best home remedies for hoarseness!
Our conclusion
Making cough drops yourself is not difficult. You only need a few ingredients and in no time you have quick help for sore throats, coughs and hoarseness.
If you like, you can make cough drops with fresh herbs or you can reach for finely ground powder. It's up to you.
If you take dark honey, you get candy in the color of this photo gallery.
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