Throat Lozenges

There are many lozenge recipes available and they are all very good.   I just find this sore throat lozenge candy so easy to make.  The herbs we chose were Marshmallow Root and Slippery Elm Bark.  Both are very mucilaginous (slimy) and soothing for the throat.   Simmer the roots in water for 30 minutes.  Since these are roots you want to decoct them in the water, which means the water needs to be moving or simmering.  Steeping is not strong enough to extract all the medicinal properties.   Strain out the herb and put 2 C of that herbal tea back in the pot.  Add 2 C of sugar and boil the two together until it reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer.  Use a deep pan as it really expands when boiling.  It takes quite a bit of time for it to reach about 280 degrees but then it shoots up to 300 very quickly.    When at 300 degrees pour onto a greased and confectioner covered cookie tray.  Cut into pieces as soon as you can lift it up.   The color is all natural from the tea.  You can add flavoring to it if you desire - we used natural orange flavor.   You can play around with this recipe, changing the herbs that are used as the base tea.  Horehound is a favorite for sore throats.  Rose Hips offers a reddish tint to your lozenges and Wild Cherry Bark is fabulous for sore throats so that is a winning combination as well.  When you suck on these slowly you can feel a smooth coating on your throat.