Soothe your throat and tantalize your taste buds with these homemade Honey Lemon Ginger Throat Drops!
This simple recipe uses just a few natural ingredients to create a powerful punch against coughs and irritation. Packed with the soothing properties of honey, the invigorating zest of lemon, and the warming comfort of ginger, these throat drops are a delicious and effective way to find relief.
Spring cold? Sore throat? Cough that won’t go away? These Homemade Honey Lemon Ginger Throat Drops are incredibly soothing and taste wonderful. They really help.
Plus, when you’re feeling all better, be sure and drop one in your hot tea to sweeten it. Delicious to the last drop.
Why You’ll Love These Honey Lemon Throat Drops
- They taste great, and are way better than candy.
- They are incredibly soothing to the throat.
- Overall, they are much more cost effective than buying store bought throat drops.
- You can make them in bulk and have them on hand for a decent amount of time, with proper storage. That way, when you aren’t feeling well or your throat hurts, you’ve got them!
- They go great in tea or coffee to add flavor. To be honest you can drop them in almost any beverage they compliment (hot or cold) and get a flavor boost and a natural sweetener.
Cooking Level
Advanced
If you’ve never made a candy or hit a ‘hard candy stage’ in any recipe, this recipe might actually be a little challenging for you. Most of the time, when problems occur it comes from not being familiar with how candy making works and definitely not having a candy thermometer which is key.
Candy making requires an enormous amount of patience, time and effort.
That isn’t meant to discourage you, but I strongly urge you to do some research on candy making before trying out this recipe. This beginner guide to candy making is a great place to start.
What you need to make these Throat Drops
- Candy Thermometer
- candy molds – the one I used in this post seems to never be available anymore, so I have added a few at the bottom I have since bought. We now use those to make these.
- ginger tea
- honey
- lemon
How do you make Honey Lemon Ginger Throat Drops
There is a printable recipe card below with full instructions – just scroll to the bottom of the post. However, these are pretty simplified, so please make sure you read the extended instructions carefully.
- Combine hot tea, raw honey and fresh lemon and bring to a boil.
- Allow to cook to 300 degrees (hard crack stage) using a candy thermometer
- Pour into molds, and allow to harden.
Tips, Tricks and FAQs
DO NOT make candy on a humid day. You will wind up with a very sticky goo that won’t solidify properly. You need dry, cool conditions to get a perfect final product.
If you consistently struggle with humidity in your kitchen, try a dehumidifier. If you’ve made the candy and you notice after the total amount of drying time, the candy is still VERY sticky, try placing your candy in a large container with a lid filled with rice for a few hours. The rice can remove the extra moisture.
DO use a candy thermometer. If you don’t have one, don’t make the recipe yet. Get one, then try. It is a must for candy making. It doesn’t have to be fancy. We use this one, and it works just fine.
DO NOT walk away. You really cannot walk away from this. Even if you think you have the time to, you just can’t in candy making. Your mixture can burn very quickly. Stir often.
How long does it take to get to 300 degrees?
It can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes to hit the 300 degree mark but often it takes much less. All stovetops are different, and temperatures actually vary greatly. I made these a few weeks ago on our gas stove and we got to hard crack VERY quickly. Nothing like using our older electric stove.
Your mixture must hit the 300 degree mark to hit the hard candy crack stage. Keep in mind that all stovetops have different temperatures, that humidity can cause problems, the thickness of your pan can effect how long it takes, and always use a candy thermometer.
We also use this site to troubleshoot candy making a lot.
What should the hard crack liquid look like?
The final mixture at 300 degrees should be a rich amber color, sort of tan. A little yellow, a little amber, even possibly a little brown or tan.
I have included photos below to help you see what it looks like when poured into the molds. This is the color you are going for, although depending on type of honey used, strength of ginger tea… those things all effect the outcome.
This is not a candy you can walk away from. You want to keep an eye on it the whole time.
More fun candy recipes
- Prickly Pear Gum Drops
- Homemade Salted Caramels
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Brittle
- Gingerbread Truffles
What do they taste like?
Not only are they soothing, they are absolutely delicious.
They have a light lemony, sweet honey flavor. The strength of the ginger tea will determine how much you can taste it in the recipe. It’s a really wonderful combination and is very soothing when your throat is really bothering you.
Assuming you’d like to use the same Silicone mold I used for mine,
This is the exact mold I used, however it so often out of stock so I have tried to include more options throughout this post. However, also, please feel free to use any mini silicone mold shape from hearts, to squares to circles. You get to choose what you use.
Suggested Products to Make These
If you choose to buy one of these molds, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.
Obviously any silicone mold will do. We like these the best.
Recipe for Honey Lemon Ginger Throat Drops
Honey Lemon Ginger Throat Drops
Nicole Cook
Spring cold? Sore throat? Cough that won’t go away? These Homemade Honey Lemon Ginger Throat Drops are incredibly soothing, taste wonderful and when you’re feeling better, drop the leftovers in your hot tea to sweeten it. Delicious to the last drop.
4.76 from 100 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Additional Time 2 hours hrs
Total Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24 cough drops (depending on size of mold)
Calories 42 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup ginger tea hot and strongly brewed
- ½ cup raw honey
- 1 lemon juiced
Instructions
Combine the strongly brewed ginger tea, with the lemon juice and the raw honey in a tall saucepan on the stove. (the height of the saucepan is important because this will begin to foam and rise above the edges of a lower pan)
Turn the burner to medium to medium high heat and bring the entire mixture to a rapid boil. Insert a candy thermometer that attaches to the side of the pan, being careful not to touch the bottom of the pan but rest just above it. Bring the mixture to 300 degrees F. Its going to take about 20-30 minutes to get to 300 degrees. DO NOT WALK AWAY – even if you think you have time because if you go over that magic 300 mark, you're going to wind up with a pot of burnt mess. Stir frequently. I've been told by a reader she had an issue that her mixture burnt before it hit 300 degrees F. That's an indication that her stovetop temperature may have been higher than mine. Again, I have made this dozens of times and have not had that problem, but stirring will help tremendously with that. You can also turn the burner down a tad, please keep in mind that stovetop temperatures vary greatly.
Once it reaches 300 degrees F remove from burner immediately and pour into silicone molds. We used the one pictured below.
Allow to "set" or "cool" in silicone pan for 1-2 hours. You may need to go longer if you areexperiencing high humidity in your area. If you have a humidity problem, you can try placing the silicone mold in a large container with a lid filled with rice. It can help pull the moisture out.
Once they are dry, coat with powdered sugar to keep them from sticking together. Strain away excess sugar and keep in an airtight container up to about 2 weeks. After about two weeks you may notice the honey beginning to crystallize. Start using them in your tea after that.
Nutrition
Calories: 42kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 0.1gFat: 0.01gSaturated Fat: 0.002gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.004gSodium: 1mgPotassium: 10mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 2mgIron: 0.1mg
Keyword easy candy recipes
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Nicole Cook
Nicole Cook is a professional food writer, a chef and baker as well as the main voice behind Daily Dish Recipes. Her family friendly and kitchen tested recipes are designed to help the home cook prepare delicious meals for their family and friends. Nicole has been featured on Today, HuffPost, Taste of Home, Buzz Feed and More. She writes and photographs alongside her daughter Brielle, the other voice of Daily Dish Recipes.
