Cough medicine - quince and elderflower tea

in #health6 years ago

Some of you might know our family spent basically the whole month of February being sick in one form or another. And it's not quite over yet! But the mere fact I'm able to post this shows how much things have improved! So here's to a healthy spring and abundant year!

One of the best simple remedies for sore throat and cough is the quince and elderflower tea.

The recipe is simple!

  • 1 quince, whole and thoroughly washed of the fuzz that covers it
  • 3-5 dried elderberry flowers, meaning the whole cluster without the stem
  • honey to sweeten it afterwards
  • bonus points for adding rosehips and sage leaves (not required, but great add-ons)

How to make the tea?

  1. Put the washed quince whole in a narrow pot and pour water to cover it one time over. Do not put a lid on the pot. If you have rosehips, now's the time to add them as well.
  2. Boil the water and then keep it simmering until the quince is thoroughly boiled and half of the water has evaporated. My great-grandmother checked by pressing a fork through the quince - it has to easily turn into mush.
  3. Let it cool for a few hours, preferably overnight.
  4. Bring to a boil, add the dry elderflowers, put a lid on and let it steep for 30 minutes. If you have sage leaves, now's the time to add them.
  5. Sweeten to taste and drink while still warm, but cold is also OK.

You can somehow speed the process or use a smaller pot if you cut the quince in quarters, but I think the long simmering is important. So when I use cut quince, I just keep it simmering until half of the water has evaporated.

The elderberry flowers should be gathered when freshly bloomed (mid-May around here) and kept in whole clusters, just cut the thick stem that connects the flower cluster to the branch. After that, dry in a shady but well ventilated place until completely dry and then some. Store in a jar or a box, but try not to lose the pollen!

And now that spring's approaching, I can hardly wait for the modest blushing pink flower of the quince in late April! Especially knowing what precious golden velvety gifts they'll bear by the year's end!


More of my gardening posts

To learn a bit more about my backstory, see my intro post. Also check out the blog of my wife and better half - Gerry.


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Never heard of quince. But have elderberry. Touch wood, my entire household has not had even a sniffle all year. I think this can be attributed to the fact that we have such bone chilling temps that it kills any air borne bacteria. Our community has not been hit hardly at all with the Flu virus either surprisingly. So there are I guess some benefits to putting up with this darn cold

Love the quince! Those are huge! I might try this this coming fall, if I can get my hands on some more quince!

thehearthcomment.jpg

great post @bobydimitrov! so great to see you back in action. you and your family are living proof that this recipe works ;) i have only been around a quince tree once (they're more rare as fare as i can tell in the States), but i'm excited to get one on the homestead. thanks for creating this great post; it's been resteemed @the-hearth :)

Thanks a bunch!

Great stuff! Winter is coming here and I may get a chance to try it out

I love this idea. I have two quince trees and I get a bit sick of quince paste (although pickled quinces and cheese is bloody great!). I planted two elderflowers too and knew how good it was for colds, but didn't even think of this combo - thanks!

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