Herbal Drops – Candy with a health kick
As an avid reader of many things herbal, the magazine sporting the name of The Essential Herbal is of course a favorite. Several issues back, there was an article on making horehound cough drops. Since then, I’ve gone from “very much like” to extreme obsession of Elderberry. The idea of using this herb/fruit to ward off flu strains instead of vaccinations has been a lot of my motivation to learn more. (If you ask my friends, few conversations about health don’t contain the word elderberry. It’s why I say obsessed.) Last week, we made lovely herbal drops without horehound or even peppermint anywhere in sight! Elderberry and lemon balm were the stars of the show!
This can be a nice way to get your daily regimen of elderberry during the winter months. (or any other herb that you might think to add.) What kid would refuse a daily candy? For that matter, what mom or adult would refuse one? 😉
Portions of this project can be kid friendly. If nothing other than watching and documenting the amount and names of the herbs included. It depends on the kid and their interest in candy making. My lil kidlet requested we make them so her interest was high. I would not recommend letting kids form the hot sugar into drops unless they are old enough to be very responsible and can manage a pair of gloves.Why make your own? As with anything you take the time to make, you know exactly what is in it! Another point is that there are very few stores that will carry an herbal candy with elderberry. The Essential Herbal has several kinds herbal candies on their site for sale. Not everyone can carve out enough time to make them from scratch. It’s a known fact, even if your business resides in the herbal realm.
We also add local honey to our drops instead of using corn syrup. It might mean that the drops are a bit softer than with corn syrup but they taste better and they pack an even healthier punch because of the honey. Our local honey in this case came from Dunwoody Honey. This will sooth a sore throat almost as well as a tea with honey. There are times when it’s a lot more convenient than stopping to make tea as well.
Here are a few of the tasks in the making:
Herbal tea simmer
Add a Cup of sugar
Add local honey
Thermometer reading – 280F was the magic number according to the TEH author
Pour the hot molten sugar on the oiled pan
Let cool to a point
Form herbal drops
Let cool and harden further
Enjoy!
Happy Washing!
~Regina
3 Comments
Sheri Lee Pierce
This is a great post Regina! I love elderberry in Winter too, but elderberry syrup can be really hard to find in a store. You have to either make it yourself or know a herbalist who shares 🙂
When you made your herbal drops, did you use dried elderberries?
(And the lemon balm is such a nice touch~ I bet the kids love those!)
admin
Hey Sheri!
Yes, this time it was dried elderberries. Come summertime, we’ll do this again with fresh ones! Can’t wait. ~Regina
Anderson Duppstadt
I think it would be fun for a kid. The following page has some good one too: Easy Magic Tricks for Kids