Back to the garden for Horehound......

I remember that Grandpa used to keep Horehound candy in his pocket come cold weather. During the summer it was always peppermint....never Horehound. Now I know that there was a reason behind this. Horehound would be one of my top ten choices for a medicinal herb.

Horehound, also called White Horehound is a perennial. It is a small rounded bush, very pretty. It has small white flowers that circle around the stems. It doesn't bloom until after the second year. The stem is downy, square and white. The leaves are a pale green and heart shaped and they are wrinkled and have a white wooly covering.

Once you start growing Horehound, (everyone should!), you will be picking the leaves and flowering tops after the flowers open. Dry both the leaves and flowers for winter use.

Horehound is a very effective remedy for sore throats and coughs. When you feel a cold coming on, pick 10 to 12 small horehound leaves, chop finely, mix with 1 tablespoon. honey and eat slowly to ease sore throat or cough. Repeat this as necessary.

Here is an excerpt from my Medicinal Herb Class handout:


"Horehound contains a compound called Marrubin which causes a
secretion of fluids into the bronchial passageways that loosens tough
phlegm from the chest and makes it more fluid. This makes
expectoration easier during coughing. It relaxes the smooth muscle
of the bronchi while promoting mucus production and
expectoration. Horehound eases congestion and
wheezing. It is good for bronchitis, bronchial asthma,
croup, whooping cough, and non-productive coughs.......
Marrubin is what causes the distinctive bitter taste of horehound."

So, how do we use it? At the first sign of a cold or cough, I start making Horehound tea. We sweeten it with either honey from our bees or with Stevia that I grow, dry and powder.

(By the way, Stevia should be green....I see it in the health food stores and it is white. I assume it has been bleached....) I also take the tea, double strength, and turn it into cough syrup and cough drops. This is easy to do.

To make cough syrup, warm the Horehound tea and then add honey (raw and unpastuerized!) to the desired thickness. Some people like a thin cough syrup (less honey) and some like a thick cough syrup (more honey). Place your finished syrup, while still warm but not hot, into a glass bottle with a cork stopper. Keep your syrup in the refrigerator. At our house, we take 2 tablespoons for adults and big kids and 1 tablespoon for smaller children as needed for a cough. We also continue to drink the tea and use Horehound cough drops as necessary.

To turn your syrup into a cough drop, cook your mixture until it reaches the hard ball stage using a candy thermometer. Pour out onto an oiled cookie sheet, score when partially cool, do not wait until completely cool or you will be breaking it apart with a meat mallet! (Been there, done that!) Store in waxed paper in an airtight container. You can also dust with powdered sugar to keep the pieces from sticking...but I try to avoid the sugar. Use these as you would any other cough drop.

There are many other health benefits to Horehound so I encourage you to read more about this herb. I have been giving Horehound cough syrup and drops to my children since they were small so I want to say something about the cautions listed below.

As I study herbs, I sometimes find cautions listed without any explanations. If I find an explanation that seems reasonable for avoiding an herb that is applicable to my family's health situation, and it appears in more than one resource, I will do so. Many times I will find a caution listed in one book but on checking a dozen other books that caution does not appear..... This is why it is important for you to do your own research and make your own decisions about which herbs to use and which to avoid. I will always pass the cautions on when I teach and encourage you to study and make your own decisions.

CAUTIONS:
DO NOT TAKE DURING PREGNANCY!!!
DO NOT TAKE IF NURSING!!!
DO NOT GIVE TO CHILDREN UNDER 18 OR ADULTS OVER 65!!!
IF YOU HAVE HEART OR STOMACH PROBLEMS, CONSULT YOUR HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONER BEFORE TAKING HOREHOUND!!!