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
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
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 are experiencing 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.
I can’t believe you made your own throat losenges! That is just genius! Happily I’ve avoided the flu and colds this season, but next time one strikes I’m going to make a batch of these — and I definitely want to get some of those silicone molds. This is very clever!
WOW….what a great recipe. I usually do not buy throat drops because I din’t like all the artificial stuff they contain. These are PERFECT….and would be great to help with a sore throat. Honey works wonders.
I LOVE that you made your own throat drops! I’m always caught without some when I reeeeally need it so maybe I should just made a whole ton and store it at home. I love the honey/lemon/ginger combo and that’ll fix up one’s throat ASAP.
What?!! I didn’t know you could make these! Oh, I am so impressed. My daughter loves natural cough drops, I’m going to send this to her. Thanks for sharing this!
Oooh!! That really sounds great. How about adding a whole knob of ginger to the tea to let it steep for extra ginger? I’d love to try to make these. We buy Halls and I don’t really like them — too much sugar. This winter has been a long one and so many people have had colds several times plus the flu. I certainly hope you feel better soon. Thank you for the recipe — I’ll be sure to try it out.
I hope you’re feeling better now!! This flu season has been awful. I love the idea of making homemade cough drops though- I need to try these!
What a fantastic natural remedy! My throat has been so scratchy with spring allergy season starting up, and I bet these will be so soothing. I love that there are no artificial dyes and I know everything that went into them. They’re such pretty little drops, too! I’m off to order the silicone molds.
Such a brilliant idea to make your own throat drops! I never would have thought of this! Honey lemon and ginger really are the trifecta at making me feel better.
What a great idea! I’m all about homemade everything all the time, but I’ve never thought to make my own cough drops. I need to try this — and could have totally used these with my husband this weekend since he was coughing quite a bit. Next time! (Also, I feel like that mould is totally necessary because it makes them look honeycomb-ish and cute.)
where is summer? I am absolutely loving these throat drops! I am itching to make them but I’m afraid if I do, then I’ll need them since Mother Nature isn’t quite in our favor so far this year. I am bookmarking this to save so I can skip store bought and make these for the family instead. I love the combination of flavor too!
This is so smart of you! I’m so going to try this because it’s really neat and I’ve had a sore throat that just will not go away.
Oh my word! Where in the world did you get that mini hexagon mold?! I have been looking for one like that for ages! No joke, I’ve checked Amazon, eBay, Etsy, etc. for the past year with no luck. So I have to ask/plead, where in the world did you get that mold?
I bought my molds from Amazon (https://amzn.to/2K6sOHE).
Love them and use them for all sorts of fun things.
The more that I look, did you actually just use the silicone pot holders with the honeycomb design?
No, I didn’t use the pot holders but that’s an interesting idea. haha The link for the ones I purchased on amazon: https://amzn.to/2K6sOHE
Really?! Those molds? I saw those when I was searching but they looked too big compared to the shape in your photos.
I hope you’re feeling better now!! This flu season has been awful. I love the idea of making homemade cough drops though- I need to try these!
What a fantastic natural remedy! My throat has been so scratchy with spring allergy season starting up, and I bet these will be so soothing. I love that there are no artificial dyes and I know everything that went into them. They’re such pretty little drops, too! I’m off to order the silicone molds.
Such a brilliant idea to make your own throat drops! I never would have thought of this! Honey lemon and ginger really are the trifecta at making me feel better.
What a great idea! I’m all about homemade everything all the time, but I’ve never thought to make my own cough drops. I need to try this — and could have totally used these with my husband this weekend since he was coughing quite a bit. Next time! (Also, I feel like that mould is totally necessary because it makes them look honeycomb-ish and cute.)
where is summer? I am absolutely loving these throat drops! I am itching to make them but I’m afraid if I do, then I’ll need them since Mother Nature isn’t quite in our favor so far this year. I am bookmarking this to save so I can skip store bought and make these for the family instead. I love the combination of flavor too!
I can’t believe you made your own throat losenges! That is just genius! Happily I’ve avoided the flu and colds this season, but next time one strikes I’m going to make a batch of these — and I definitely want to get some of those silicone molds. This is very clever!
WOW….what a great recipe. I usually do not buy throat drops because I din’t like all the artificial stuff they contain. These are PERFECT….and would be great to help with a sore throat. Honey works wonders.
Oooh!! That really sounds great. How about adding a whole knob of ginger to the tea to let it steep for extra ginger? I’d love to try to make these. We buy Halls and I don’t really like them — too much sugar. This winter has been a long one and so many people have had colds several times plus the flu. I certainly hope you feel better soon. Thank you for the recipe — I’ll be sure to try it out.
What?!! I didn’t know you could make these! Oh, I am so impressed. My daughter loves natural cough drops, I’m going to send this to her. Thanks for sharing this!
I LOVE that you made your own throat drops! I’m always caught without some when I reeeeally need it so maybe I should just made a whole ton and store it at home. I love the honey/lemon/ginger combo and that’ll fix up one’s throat ASAP.
This is so smart of you! I’m so going to try this because it’s really neat and I’ve had a sore throat that just will not go away.
This is a really clever idea! You could even add a drop of essential oils – thanks
Love this simple recipe. If hou plave them in the freezer will it keep the honey from crystallizing?
Feeling a bit annoyed that I wasted ingredients. I watched the pot like a hawk, and before it even hit 300 degrees, it was already a burned mess. It doesn’t say to stir it. Should I have been stirring it this whole time? It actually took a long time to get from 250 degrees to 300 degrees, so I’m not sure what’s up. But I read the instructions like 10 x while I waited and questioned if it was going well.
I am so sorry you had that problem. I have made this recipe dozens of times, with even different brands of ingredients, and haven’t had that problem. I am wondering, with most things, if a higher elevation may affect it. My temperature rises quickly, and it makes me think that different stoves may react differently as well. Stirring can help, for sure, but I have never stirred because I never had to. Try lowering the temperature of your burner as you’re going a bit too, just expect it to take longer to reach your desired temperature. I have added these instructions to the recipe. Again, I’m sorry you had a problem.
The first time I made these (yesterday), I followed the directions exactly but ended up burning the entire thing. I tried again today, lowering the temperature (which did increase the cooking time, but I did not mind) and they turned out MUCH better! I sprinkled the bottom of some of the cough drops with ginger powder after I poured them in the mold. They were still a tad soft 2 hours, but I popped them in the freezer for 5 minutes, and I was able to take them out easily. I rolled them in cornstarch (and then later powdered sugar), put them in a baggie, and now I’ll keep them in the freezer.
Just a quick comment related to altitude and electric stoves – this was the most intriguing post that came up when I searched homemade cough drop recipe on pinterest but the first couple of tries it was burning – even after calculating for altitude (I live at 7K feet and used 286 F as my ending temp which worked great for setting). So after it reached the right temp it still came out dark brown and bitter (burnt). I figured out after using my InstantPot instead of my stove that the electric burner plus the elevation wasn’t right for making a hard crack. Everything turned out perfectly in the instant pot on saute and stirring consistently. Hopefully anyone reading this who is at a hight altitude AND has an electric stove finds this helpful (and hopefully you have an instantpot)
I am so happy you shared this. First, I am so sorry that you had to try several attempts. Obviously I have only made this recipe where I live which is basically NO altitude so had nothing to base it by. This was very insightful for me and I really really appreciate you taking the time to leave the comment and explain your process. Again, I’m so sorry you had to trial and error to get it right, but I am SO pleased it worked out for you and that you found that middle ground.
They really are lovely and so soothing and we’ve made them a couple years in a row now… I haven’t had a problem yet where I live but I think things like canning and candy making really are all based upon things such as weather, barometric pressure, altitude and other things that are up to mother nature to make work.
Thank you so much again!
I just finished making these cough drops and so far they look awesome! I am a beekeeper so I was excited to find this recipe. I plan to sell my honey at a local farmers market and these cough drops will be a great addition to my display. The only problem I had was pouring the mixture evenly in my molds. I guess practice will make perfect. Would like to mention that it is not necessary to use raw honey. Raw honey does contain all those great healthful enzymes but heating to 300 degrees kills those enzymes. The honey is still soothing on the throat but save the raw honey for eating raw, not cooked. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Good afternoon
Thank you for this wonderful recipe I am having trouble with it solidifying it is not turning into candy. Also I’m having a hard time getting it to 300° without boiling over! Help?
Hi Laura, I’m so sorry you’re having trouble with the recipe. It is very important to get to the hard candy stage temp which is 300 degrees F. If you are having trouble getting to the 300 degree mark without it boiling over, you may need to use a deeper pot. I use a high sided pot, so I don’t experience that, but I can see how easy that would be to have happen if the pot’s sides were too low. I suggest trying with a taller pot. You should have success that way.
Thank you so much for this recipe I have been trying unsuccessfully to find real honey drops without added sugar so I decided to make it myself.
Thank you
What can I transfer my hot liquid to for easy pouring into molds?
I tend to use a measuring cup with a spout. But you could also buy a medicine dropper or baster which also might work well.
Are you doubling your recipe when I’m going to pour into the mold one batch is almost just foam and doesn’t even fill the bottom of the molds
I have not doubled it, no. But it usually happens when there is too much moisture in your candy, it’s often that you haven’t cooked all the water out of the honey mixture in the boiling process. It should be a very thick pour. This article might help. Candy 911