Herbs as
Medicine Pages

Herbal Syrup Recipes

Start by placing the herbs you wish to use in boiling water

After straining out the herbs, make the syrup by adding 3 pounds of brown sugar for every pint of liquid.

Boiling to the desired syrupy consistency, then bottle.

As a substitute for brown sugar, for every cup of liquid you may can add one or two cups of wholesome, alternative sweeteners, such as vegetable glycerine, honey, maple syrup or even Karo® syrup.

If you find this ratio is too sweet, you may do a 2:1 ratio (using only one cup of sweetener per pint)

This will be less sweet,and you will need to store it in the refrigerator, as it will not keep on the shelf at room temperature.

The thicker the syrup is when you add the sweetener - and the sweeter it is - the better the preserving qualities, and the less you will have to cook it, thereby preserving more nutrients. 

Below, you'll find recipes for "Cough Syrup", "Wild Cherry Cough Syrup", "Vitamin, Minerals with Iron Syrup" and "Jungle Juice"... examples of the types of syrups you can make.

The Cough syrups - of course - are for sore throats, especially for your children, while the Jungle Juice and Vitamin Syrups are for Mom, Dad, Grandma or Grandpa. They contain nutritive herbs, herbs for anti-aging,  beneficial for the eyes and as anti-oxidants to handle stress, etc.: Look up the herbs, and educate yourself on others as well... then make your own renditions! 

Wilderness Family Naturals offers vegetable glycerine, menthol crystals, and other non-herb supplies in addition to the herbs listed below. 

Cough Syrup

Ricolla® cough syrup contains menthol (.08%) and these herbs: Echinacea, angelica root, elder, horehound, hyssop, lemon balm, linden flowers, peppermint, thyme, sage, and wild sage. Search our reference catalog of herb descriptions, and select those herbs you feel are best for colds, sore throats, etc. These herbs may also be used for teas when someone is home sick, or to prepare syrups to try.
 

Wild Cherry Syrup:

Instructions:

1. Place the first 5 ingredients in a large kettle.
2. Add 2 quarts of boiling water, simmering 20 minutes.
3. Let stand covered until nearly cold, then strain through doubled cheese cloth.
4. Put in a large non-metal cooking pan and add the four pounds of brown sugar or at least an equal amount of other sweetener.
5. Boil this down to a medium thick syrup - it must be thick enough so it won't sour.
6. Add the juice of 4 lemons and let boil for two or three minutes longer.
7. Strain again.  When cool, it is ready for use or for bottling.

You could also make this syrup by steeping the herbs in vegetable glycerine.  I usually place herbs in a quart canning jar, slightly dampen them with water, and then fill the jar with vegetable glycerine, just like it is explained below.  Then I place this tightly sealed jar in water in a pan on the cool side of my wood cook stove.  I let this sit 3-5 days to slowly infuse the medicinal properties into the liquid.
 
Instructions:

After straining out the herbs and adding the sweetener and bringing it to the right consistency:

1. You could add some menthol crystals to make it have that vapor-action like Riccola® and Vicks®.
2. You may also wish to add 2-3 tablespoons of brandy to each cup of syrup. This relaxes the throat muscles and reduces spasmodic coughing. We like using Southern Comfort. (This also helps to preserve the syrup.)
3. Essential Oils are nice to add as well, adding a refreshing flavor and more medicinal properties.
4. Lastly, you may wish to add a fruit concentrate for added flavors, vitamins and minerals.

Here's another very tasty cough syrup. This one must be kept refrigerated.
 

Cough and Sore Throat Syrup

Instructions:

1. Use 2 ounces of herb mixture to one quart of water. Simmer the liquid down to one pint. This will give you a very strong, thick tea.
2. Strain the herbs out and add in your sweetener. Either 1 or 2 cups. You may need to warm the liquid for everything to dissolve and mix well.
3. Add in any brandy, essential oils, fruit concentrates, etc you wish. Mix again and bottle

Jungle Juice

1. Take a one quart jar and fill 1/3 full with herb mixture (Use whole or cut herbs and wiz them in your blender or crush them).
2. Wet the herbs with about 1/2 cup of water.
3. Then fill the jar to within 1 inch of the top with vegetable glycerine.
4. Put your crock pot on low. Fill with water and place quart jar filled with mixture in the water. Let steep in the crock pot on low for 3 days.

An adult dose is 1-2 teaspoons 2-3 times/day.
 

Vitamin and Minerals with Iron Syrup

2 parts nettles leaf
3 parts dandelion leaf
3 parts dandelion root
3 parts raspberry leaf
2 parts watercress
2 parts alfalfa leaf
1 part hawthorn berries
1 part yellowdock root
1 part dulse
1/4 part horsetail

Instructions:

1. Place 2 ounces of herb mixture in 1 quart of water and on low heat boil down to a pint.
2. Strain and add 1-2 cups of sweetener. Warm and mix thoroughly.
3. Add 1/4 cup Brandy
4. 1/4 cup any fruit concentrate (I like Black Cherry Concentrate). It adds lots of flavor and is used to dissolve crystals in the body such as kidney and gall stones. It also dissolves crystals in the joints that make them stiff and cause arthritis.  Do not add juice, it will dilute the syrup and cause it to spoil.

Suggested Dosage: 4-6 Tablespoons
 

One cough syrup you can make at home is:

Kathy Kevilles Homemade Honey Cough Syrup: