Easing Coughs Naturally

By Cathy O


Whether it be the dead of        drops. About 2-3 tsp. of herb
winter or the high life of       to 1 1/2 cups boiling water   
summer, colds and allergies      ought give you the            
seem to pop up out of nowhere    concentration that you need;
and catch us completely off      let steep till cool.         
guard. Hand-in-hand with                                      
these seasonal terrors come     Here's a tried-and-true hard  
the dreaded cough and there      candy recipe, straight from   
are two ways you can fight       the pages of Cooking for      
cold's comrade-in-arms-----      American Homemakers. I have
with either over the counter     used this gem for many years  
cough drops ----- or ones that   for lollypop making and it is
you can make yourself.           first rate for making the     
                                 medium:                      
Make yourself, you ask? Why                                   
not! it's easy and many of the   1 cup sugar                   
ingredients within these         1/3 cup light corn syrup      
little soldiers can be found     2/3 cup water herbal tea      
right in your own kitchen.      vegetable coloring            
Sugar, corn syrup and water      optional                      
gently brought to a robust                                     
boil till they reach what is     Mix sugar, herbal tea and     
known as the hard crack          corn syrup and cook over low  
stage will give you the          heat stirring until sugar is  
medium. The only secret to a     dissolved and mixture boils.
successful drop is to use a      Continue boiling without      
tasty and simple combination     stirring until a small amount
of herbs steeped in the         is very brittle when dropped  
water before adding it to the    into cold water. Wash away   
sugar-syrup. This wonderful     crystals from side of pan    
cough relieving tea along with   with a damp cloth. Cook      
your dry ingredients are         slowly at end so that the     
all you need to make your own    syrup will not discolor.     
natural cough confection-        Remove from the heat and add  
ators.                           color. Either drop quickly   
                                 from the tip of a spoon onto a
Some herbs that are found in     greased surface or into       
many of the other natural        prepared hard candy molds.   
cough drops you find on the      Allow to harden and cool      
market that you may want to      completely before removing.  
try alone or in combination      You can roll them in powdered
are; Coltsfoot, Korean          sugar and wrap in plastic wrap
Licorice Mint easy to grow;     or waxed paper for storage.   
seeds are available from Seeds                                 
of Change, thyme, slippery       For gift giving, why not add  
elm, horehound, comfrey leaf,    a personal touch by pressing  
hyssop, marsh mallow and         some of the fresh herbs       
common mullein, to name a few.   between waxed paper and use to
Many of these herbs are        decorate or wrap your gift    
perennial so you will have       box. Add a nice tag listing  
them for your own personal       the herbs that you used for a
medicine cabinet year after      professional look.           
year. Use the leaves only of                                  
these herbs either singly or                                   
in combination. It helps to                                   
try them out as a tea first,                                   
that way you know which herbs                                  
will taste best in your cough    

About the author:
Cathy O is a successful author who provides recipes for and information on candy and lollipops. "In addition to being a freelance writer, I also dabble in Aromatherapy, Herbalism and painting when I am so inspired. Living in the Lake region of Western Maine has been of tremendous inspiration to me and I am proud and happy to call it home."



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