Are you having a sore throat? Pesky viruses can cause sore throats and coughs that last far too long. The good news is that you can find a natural remedy that works in your herb garden. The sage plant is a long-known medicinal herb used to combat sore throats and sore gums, as well as to treat the inside of the mouth or throat. It fights pathogens that cause illness and quickly relieves pain. In the article you will find two simple recipes on how to make sage sweets yourself and use them asHome remedies for coughand sore throats.
Sage candies as a natural remedy
More and more people are turning to the centuries-old tradition of herbal medicine. Nature offers just as many effective remedies today as it did in times past. With these remedies, all sorts of illnesses can be successfully treated - as well as the unpleasant side effects of modern life such as stress, exhaustion and listlessness. Even scientists have acknowledged that herbal medicine has a number of healing properties.
The elongated, hairy leaves of common sage have great healing properties that can be used for various ailments. They have antimicrobial, antiviral,antiperspirantand antispasmodic. Sage is primarily prepared as a tea and used against various health problems such as gastrointestinal problems. Another well-known use of the medicinal herb is the soothing sage sweets, which are effective against inflammation in the mouth and throat and can be easily made at home. Two recipes follow.
Make your own sage candies with this 2-ingredient recipe
You need:
- A sharp knife
- cutting board
- Mortar and pestle (optional)
- Small cooking pot
- wooden spoon
- baking tray
- baking paper
Ingredients:
- 10 sprigs of fresh sage (or 5g dried sage)
- 100 g granulated sugar
This is how you can make the sage sweets yourself:
Rinse fresh sage briefly under cold water, then pat dry lightly with paper towels. Then peel the leaves off the sage. Using a sharp knife on a cutting board, chop the sage leaves as finely as possible. (If you are using dried sage, you do not need to rinse it, just crush it directly with a mortar and pestle).
In a small saucepan, melt the sugar over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring until the sugar is light brown. Stir the sage into the sugar. Be careful as the water contained in the fresh sage leaves causes the mixture to hiss, bubble and spit. Making these candies is therefore not a task for children.
Remove the pot from the heat. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Using a wooden spoon, drop candy-sized portions of the herb mixture onto the paper. Caution: The sugar mixture is hotter than boiling water and does not need to be touched with your hand before it cools down! If you don't like the shape of the candy, let the drops cool enough to handle, then roll them into balls with your hands.
When to use? When coughingand sore throats.
How to use?If necessary, suck on a sage candy several times a day.
How long to store?The homemade sage candies can be stored in an airtight container for at least 1 year.
Make your own sage sweets with honey
Did you know that?Honey a natural remedyis? Even a spoonful of high-quality honey can provide relief from a sore throat. The sage sweets with honey are an effective remedy for coughs and sore throats.
Ingredients:
- 200g sugar
- two handfuls of sage leaves
- 2 tablespoons liquid honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
First wash the freshly picked sage well and dab it with a kitchen towel. Then pluck the leaves from the stems because only the fine leaves are needed. Chop the sage leaves very finely or crush them with herb scissors.
Put the sugar in an uncoated saucepan and heat over medium heat. If the sugar is heated too quickly, there is a risk that it will burn. While the sugar slowly becomes liquid, it needs to be stirred constantly, preferably with a wooden spoon. In principle, a wooden spoon is more suitable than its metal counterpart, as the sugar mixture does not cool down and clump as quickly when stirring.
Once all the sugar has caramelized, remove the pan from the heat and add the remaining ingredients. First add the honey and mix with the caramel to form a mixture. Now add the lemon juice and sage and stir well.
When all the ingredients are well mixed, spread the mixture in portions with a tablespoon onto one or two pieces of baking paper. Be careful: the sugar mixture is very hot! The candy mass now needs time to harden. If you want to roll the sweets, you should regularly check with your finger how soft the mixture is. As soon as no more strings form, the cough drops can be rolled.
To do this, simply peel off the candies with a knife and roll them into a small ball between your hands. Place the balls back on the baking paper to allow them to cool further and harden completely. If the cough drops are hard, you can roll them in powdered sugar and wrap them in candy wrappers.
Tip: Cut and harvest sage correctly
You grow sage in the garden oron the balconyand would like to use its leaves for homemade natural remedies? Below you will learn how to cut sage and harvest it correctly.
- The sage leaves can be picked almost all year round. Shortly before flowering, however, the concentration of essential oils is at its highest. Therefore, it is recommended to harvest sage for healing purposes between June and August.
- Sage should be harvested on a warm, sunny day, ideally in the late morning when the dew has dried off.
- Simply cut off the young shoots with scissors. Cut to about 10 cm above the ground and at least above a pair of leaves. Alternatively, you can just pick individual leaves.
- In spring the sage needs a complete pruning.
