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Cough troubles many people in the cold winter months. If you have not yet found the right medicine from the pharmacy, try this simple and effective recipe. Pharmacy medicines may not suit you, they contain chemical substances to which our body may, over time, develop antibodies and then they may not work as they should. Or you may not like that they are made from artificially created substances. Although it is possible to buy a few medicines obtained from processing plants and mushrooms in pharmacies, cough medicines are usually lozenges. There aren’t so many syrups.
How about trying to prepare cough syrup at home? You will make as much as you need, and it can be stored very well in the refrigerator. You can watch what you put into it and what the quality of the ingredients is. Making your own syrup has one more big advantage – you don’t have to get dressed when you don’t feel well and travel somewhere to the pharmacy in winter; you can stay nice and warm in your home with a hot tea at hand. And what will we need for that syrup? Prepare these ingredients:
- a little fresh lemon juice, some water and honey
- sugar
- ½ ground ginger
- ¼ ground cloves
Preparation of the homemade syrup
In a pot mix all the above-mentioned ingredients except the honey (lemon juice, water, sugar, ginger and cloves). Once you have mixed them well, bring them to a boil on the stove. Cook until the sugar thickens. When the mixture thickens to the consistency you desire so that the syrup’s thickness is pleasant to you, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove. Wait until the mixture has completely cooled and then stir in the honey. You cannot add honey to the mixture while it is hot, because honey loses its medicinal components when heated.
How to properly use and store the homemade syrup
Transfer the cold syrup into a container with a closable lid and store it in the refrigerator. If you want to make a lot of syrup to keep in reserve, ideally preserve it in jam jars so it gains the same shelf life as the store-bought one. Take one teaspoon of syrup 3x a day, ideally after meals and after drinking.
