Homemade Lemon and Honey Cough Drops

It is that time of the season where winter really kicks in for one big push and germs take that as their queue to rough you up. However, you should never let a cough or a sore throat keep you down. There is plenty that can be done to treat it.

One of the most effective remedies is a sort of hot lemonade. In it, you combine lemon juice, hot water, and honey into something that soothes cough and sore throat as well as helps fight it off. However, it is not always the most convenient thing to carry around. Lemon juice and honey, while nicely sweet, may also not be as palatable to children either. At least not without way too much honey in it.

Instead of taking a break for tea every time you need it, you can make your own amazing cough drops that make this remedy portable and more palatable for young ones.

Homemade Lemon and Honey Cough Drops

The theory behind these cough drops is you are essentially making a caramel candy, but a healthy one. When at room temperature, these cough drops will indeed have a semi-hard texture, meaning they make nice candy as well. However, when kept in the refrigerator, or at least cool, they will have a consistency more akin to a cough drop.

Ingredients

  • 1 Stick of butter
  • 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 1 Cup of honey
  • ½ Teaspoon of vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon of water

Directions

Start by melting the butter in a large saucepan until liquid. You will then add the honey, water, and vinegar before turning it up to medium heat and bringing it to a boil. As there is sugar involved, a boil happens rather suddenly, so keep a close eye on it.

Stir the mixture periodically and lower the temperature to maintain the boil for five minutes. If you have a candy thermometer, you want to move on when it reaches 300 degrees. If it starts to go past that great caramel color, it is beginning to scorch and you will want to lower the heat.

After your time is up or it has reached 300 degrees, you will want to add your lemon juice. There will be some splash up here, which is why you want to use an overly large saucepan. Boil for one more minute and remove from the heat.

Pour this mixture immediately on a pan that is lined with parchment paper.

Let the cough drops cool for a few hours before removing them from the pan. Cut them into strips, and then cut the strips into squares.  After wrapping the squares in plastic or parchment paper wrappers, you can refrigerate them to turn them into that harder consistency that cough drop aficionados are used to.

More Ideas

This recipe can easily be expanded upon with other items like fresh herb and especially ginger. You just want to blend down that herb mixture, then only add one tablespoon of lemon juice and replace the other tablespoon with the herb mixture. You can create a lot of different flavors and make this a real immune booster. Good luck with your Homemade Lemon and Honey Cough Drops, and be sure to let us know any tips you have!

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