Making Herbal Honey Syrups---Easy and Healing PART 1

Making Herbal Honey Syrups---Easy and Healing Part 1

I've been toying with learning all about syrups lately, more specifically honey syrups.  It has been a journey of discovery.  Honey, as you know, is very healing in itself.  It can be antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-fungal and is good for so much else.  It heals wounds, is good for the heart, and even good for allergies, for goodness' sake.  And not only that, it has a delicious sweetness.  As they say, a little bit of sugar helps the medicine go down. 

We already know that herbs each contain various healing qualities.  If we combine and choose the right herb, turning the honey and herb into a syrup, it is a great alternative to an alcohol-based tincture, as it is at the ready to be administered, and is good for those wishing to avoid alcohol or at the ready to give to children.  It makes medicine easier to take, and it even preserves much longer.  Think about it.  A tincture must be dissolved into something else.  It takes that bit of extra effort.  When you have a cold or the flu, you don't even want to do that.  You want an instant remedy.  

But the Herbal Honey Syrups serve much more of a purpose than as an immune system booster, cough syrup and infection control.  They can be used as remedies and/or as flavorings.  A tablespoon or two can be added to your hot tea, or other drinks, sparkling water to create your very own herbal sodas, poured over ice-cream and desserts or baked goods.  It is also great as a vinaigrette, marinade, in stir-fry and sauces.  You can pour it over gingerbread, cakes, pancakes, waffles or fruit salads.  The possibilities are endless!  Ok, this is exciting.  But how hard is it to make?  Actually, pretty easy.  In this part 1, we will explore just how to make it.  Part 2 will lay out the various herbs, flavors and healing properties and help you choose what flavors you actually want to make.

To create a honey syrup (a thinner consistency than honey and easier to mix) with one-part honey, one-part strong infused herbal tea.  Use quality dried herbs, and a nice, local raw honey.  You will want a strong decoction of herb in the water.  Use about 1/4 cup of the dried herb to 1 cup of boiling water in a pan.  Turn the heat down to simmer and let steep for 10 to 15 minutes.  Alternatively, you can use 2-3 teabags for this step also.  Strain or remove plant material or teabags and squeeze out all the liquid.  Turn heat down to lowest setting and add 1 cup honey to the strong tea. You want to heat it up until it is just warm and will dissolve the honey into the liquid without destroying the good qualities of the raw honey.  Basically, the syrup will be 1 cup honey to 1 cup tea ratio.  Once it is well mixed and completely incorporated, pour carefully into a container with a tight-fitting lid.  It will keep up to 6 months in the refrigerator, but the quicker you use it the better.  It is best if you keep one or two flavors on hand at a time to be able to use it within the prescribed time.

Now next week, we will investigate the various flavors, and medicinal qualities of some herbs that are perfect for making into syrups.  The fun part is wondering if you will be making a single herb concoction, or will you be combining several different ones?  Come back next week to make your decision.