It's a good time to learn how to make herbal syrups! These tasty, easy to enjoy forms of herbal medicine can become addictive to make and take! They are very popular as they appeal to our picky eaters and children or folks who prefer to avoid alcohol. ANYONE can be a great candidate for herbal syrups!
An herbal syrup is an herbal formulation made with the herb and sugar or honey. I almost always use honey but sugar is more common. This sweet preparation is a favourite with children, of course, and a super way to help get herbal healing components into our kids!
How to make Herbal Syrups:
This easy herbal preparation is simply the combination of a strong herbal tea (we call this a decoction) and a sweetener. Want to learn about decoctions?
Check out how to make an herbal decoction We can use either a sugar or honey as the sweetener. I normally use raw honey but have also used brown sugar, coconut sugar, raw cane sugar and others. I do avoid using refined white sugar.
I use sterilized canning jars for my syrups. There is really no measurement necessary, but I always include a guideline to help you get comfortable with the process. The syrup can be made from a combination of fruit(s), herb(s) and spices, plus citrus peel OR simply one or more herbs.
DIY Herbal Syrup Recipe
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DIY Herbal Syrup Recipe Template There are many ways to make herbal syrups. See notes below for more ideas re how to make this your own. This herbal syrup recipe is meant to act as a helpful guideline and is adaptable. Have fun!! - ½ cup to 1 cup of dried herbs - 1 quart of cool water - 1 to 2 cups of raw honey or good quality sugar - Brandy or tinctures optional 1) Combine the hard or coarse herbs such as berries, roots, or bark with the water in a pot. Any leaves or flowers will be added later in the process so set those aside for now. 2) Bring to a simmer and partially cover the pot with a lid. 3) Let simmer until the liquid inside is reduced by half. 4) Remove from the heat and add any leaves or flowers. If you are not using leaves or flowers skip the next step. 5) Place the lid on the pan covering it fully and let the leaves and flowers steep for at least 20 minutes and up to a couple of hours. 6) Strain out the herbs – you have now created a strong decoction for your syrup base! 7) Return the liquid to the pan and add your honey or sugar. 8) If using honey, very gently heat until the honey just dissolves being careful not to boil the syrup. This helps to preserve the beneficial, naturally occurring enzymes in the honey. 9) If using sugar you have the option of bringing the syrup up to a gentle boil and simmering for up to an additional 30 minutes to thicken the syrup further. Or you can simply reheat the syrup enough to easily dissolve the sugar. 10) Remove the syrup from the heat and add any brandy or tinctures you wish to include using up to ¼ cup of brandy or tincture total for each cup of syrup you have. 11) Finish up by placing your syrup in clean, sterile bottles. Add a label including the ingredients and the date you created your syrup. 12) Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. If you used higher quantities of honey/sugar or included alcohol your syrup may last even longer! 13) The dosage will depend on the herbs used in the syrup, the situation being addressed as well as the age of the recipient.A general dosage is a ½ teaspoon to 1 tablespoon taken 1 to 3 times a day with increased frequency during an acute phase of symptoms (Groves, 2016, p. 298).
A general dosage is a ½ teaspoon to 1 tablespoon taken 1 to 3 times a day with increased frequency during an acute phase of symptoms
NOTES: I strain the decoction, when finished, into a glass measuring cup. This makes it very easy to decide on the amount of sweetener to add.
If you are using the 1:1 ratio for your syrup.. i.e. One part tea to = part honey for example. This makes it easy. If there are 2 cups of tea when you have strained out the herbs,
just add 2 cups of honey. If you want to potentize the syrup even more.. and create more stability, add (in this case) ½ cup of brandy or tinctures of your choice..
The 25% alcohol addition to the syrup boosts up the shelf life.
If you choose to create a syrup that is 1:1 Tea to Sweetener, it will last longer however it may be too sweet for your taste! This is why we experiment!
if you choose to make your syrup with 2 parts herbal decoction to 1 part honey or sugar. This is called a 2:1 ratio. This means that if you start with your herbs added to 4 cups of water and simmer down the liquid to 2 cups of decoction, then you will want to add 1 cup of honey or sugar to create and adequately preserve your syrup. The ratio you choose will become your own.
We can change this ratio whenever we want for our own purposes.. The addition of brandy or tinctures is also a specific choice. I make them all.. Have fun!
Check out this recipe for Ginger Syrup and this one for Rose Hip Syrup!
We can make entire recipes of syrups -- Combinations of herbs made into various strong tea blends, which can then be cooled and sweetened to help "make the medicine go down" !!
How to Make Herbal Syrups for your own personal use:
I have made a wide variety of herbal syrups over 25 years studying herbs and herbal medicine. Some I make every year.
The question I am often asked... "How do you decide which herbal syrups to make"? I would answer by saying this.
Sometimes it's just fun to experiment but I will answer with a question for you -- What do you see as being WHAT YOU NEED SUPPORT WITH?
Here's an example. Your household experiences various colds and flu situations over a typical winter. You want to be prepared with some concoctions in your own
herbal medicine chest. You have a picky eater for a spouse and two kids who are a bit iffy about drinking herbal teas. It may be an idea to organize some herbal preparations
which are better tasting and typically more "attractive" to folks. Let's go back to SYRUPS. So.. here's my suggestion for you (not limited to these ideas!)
Make garlic syrup -- for all of the reasons-- antiviral, antibacterial, anti-fungal and deeply immune supportive
Make onion syrup -- great throat soother and cough syrup concoction which is also antiviral
Make elderberry syrup -- super immune support
Make ginger syrup -- digestive and immune support and excellent for upset tummies
There are many more. These will get you started.
In this case, please know that I am not suggesting ONLY using syrups for winter health support. There are so many other options which are important to consider.
When symptoms arise, there are specific remedies for each -- In the above example, these DIY herbal syrups can be very helpful in a supportive role!
Making Elderberry Syrup
My favourite DIY Herbal Syrups
Rose
Rosehips
Sage
Thyme
Violet
Wild Cherry Bark
NOTE: Herbal syrups which contain honey are not suitable for children under 1 year old. In this case, use a good quality sugar for now.
DIY Herbal Syrups for the adventurer!
Let's say you have made a few syrups and are ready to go wild.. Or maybe you just want to start with wild.. That's fine.. This idea, below is a guideline for making herbal syrups with a
variety of ingredients -- in this case.. one or more fruit, herbs + spices! The sky is truly the limit. I hope you experiment and have lots of fun! Please leave a comment and share what you
are making!!
• Choose a fruit (if using fruit as a part of your syrup.)
• Chop and add to the jar.
• Pick herb & spice combination that you want to make.
• Chop the herbs, roughly and place in the clean jar.
• Use a wooden spoon to gently mash this mixture a bit.
• Add spices, citrus zest or citrus juice if using.
• Add the honey to cover the mixture. Stir well.
• Place lid on the jar and place the jar in the fridge.
• Allow the flavours to ‘come together’ for a couple of days.
• Shake or stir a few times if possible during the following 24-36 hours.
If you are on Pinterest, here's a super pin to ensure that you keep this post handy! Also, you can follow Studio Botanica's main board here.
Here's to your health -- and having some good fun making your own herbal syrup concoctions !
Until next time, Carol xo
Diana De Luca
Carol, what a lovely syrup page, you are amazing! I love your recipes, thank you.