Herbal Remedies for Beginners | How to Make Herbal Syrup
Here we are already at part 3 of our herbal remedies for beginner’s series! What do you think so far? Herbs can be super simple to work with, right?! Today we are going to learn about herbal syrups which can be quite tasty and even the kids should like.
Hopefully you have had some time to make an infusion and a decoction by now, because we will be using those as our base for creating an herbal syrup. If you missed those posts, no worries, you can catch up by clicking the links below:
What is an Herbal Syrup?
An herbal syrup is a tasty way of getting a dose of herbs in your life. The base for every herbal syrup is a strong infusion or decoction. You then add honey (or a different sweetener) which not only sweetens the infusion/decoction but helps to preserve it as well. Personally, I prefer using raw local honey over any other sweetener. By using honey you will be getting the nutrition from the herbs as well as the health benefits of the honey. But if you don’t have access to a good quality honey, sugar, rice syrup, etc. will work.
How to Make an Herbal Syrup
To make an herbal syrup you will need your herb(s) of choice and sweetener of choice. That’s it! Occasionally you will find recipes that include adding alcohol or tinctures to your syrup, but for today we want to keep this simple. Besides, if you plan on giving this to the kiddos, plain syrup without alcohol is probably best.
The basic proportions when making an herbal syrup is 2 parts of your infusion or decoction to 1 part sweetener. That’s called a 2:1 ratio. The “part” can be the measurement of your choice. But say we use 1 cup as our measurement that means we’d use 2 cups of our prepared decoction to 1 cup sweetener.
The sweetener amount is variable depending on your tastes, but do keep in mind that if you add less sweetener, your syrup will not be as “syrup-y” and it will certainly not last as long.
Basic Herbal Syrup Recipes
Here are two very basic herbal syrup recipes to get you started. This is to show you the slight difference between making a syrup with an infusion vs. decoction. Remember that an infusion is for the softer parts of the plant such as the leaves and flowers. A decoction is for the harder plant materials like roots, bark, and berries.
—> Herbal Syrup with Infusion
1 cup dried herb(s) of choice (see below for suggestions)
2 cups water
1 cup honey (add up to 2 cups if you wish)
Bring the water to a light boil. In a heat safe container pour the water over the herbs. Cover and allow this to steep for several minutes to overnight. The longer you let it steep the more nutrients will release into the water. Longer steeping will also make the taste much stronger, so it’s up to your taste buds!
Once you’ve let it steep as long as you wish, strain out the herbs with a mesh strainer or use a clean rag to squeeze out all the goodness.
Discard the herbs and stir in the honey. If the infusion is no longer warm, it may be easier to warm it slightly on the stove and then add the honey so it dissolves better. But don’t overheat it so you don’t kill the good nutrients in the infusion or the honey!
That’s all there is to it—now you can store it in your fridge and use as you wish. Shelf life depends a lot on how much sweetener you use but it should store for up to a month (at least!) in the fridge.
—> Herbal Syrup with decoction
1/2 cup to 1 cup dried herb(s) of choice (see below)
4 cups cool water
1 cup honey (add up to 2 cups if you wish)
In a medium sized saucepan add your herbs and water. Bring this to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer. Allow your herb mixture to simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half.
Remove from the heat and allow it to cool just a bit so you can safely strain off the herbs without burning yourself. Strain by using a mesh strainer or use a clean rag, secure it with a rubber band around a container, and pour in the herb mixture. Then you can easily squeeze out all the liquid.
Stir in the honey, and you’re set to go! Storing is the same as above.
—> Herbal Syrup with both a decoction and infusion
Start by decocting the roots, bark, berries, etc.
Once the liquid has been reduced by half, remove from the heat
Now add in the softer herbs such as flowers and leaves
Cover and let it all steep together for 20 minutes
Strain and add honey
Herbs for syrup and ways to use
To get your juices flowing here are a few ways to use herbal syrups. Once you get more comfortable with making syrups you can make fun combos such as a cough syrup, or one to soothe a sore throat. If you come up with a brilliant one, I’d love to hear in the comments!
Rose Hip syrup poured on pancakes
Ginger or Cinnamon syrup on vanilla ice cream
Lemon Balm or Lavender syrup to flavor your tea
Schisandra Berry syrup drizzled on yogurt
And my most favorite—Elderberry syrup!
WHERE TO PURCHASE
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If you are unable to grow your own herbs, or find ingredients locally, then here are two of my favorite places to buy bulk ingredients:
This company is where I purchase the majority of my seeds. Great selection of heirloom and/or organic seeds:
These are hands down my favorite seed starting trays and pots. These are heavy duty and don’t crumple when you pop your plants out! Definitely worth the investment in my opinion.
I’d love to hear your delicious syrup ideas in the comments!!