Hop Bitters

June 29th, 2022

Hops four ozs., Orange Peel two ozs., Cardamon two drms., Cinnamon one drm., Cloves one-half drm., Alcohol eight ozs., Sherry Wine two pints, Simple Syrup one pint. Water sufficient. Grind the drugs, macerate in the Alcohol and Wine for one week, percolate and add enough syrup and water to make one gallon.

Source: One Thousand Secrets of Wise and Rich Men Revealed, C. A. Bogardus

Elecampane and Hoarhound Syrup

March 23rd, 2022

Put a pint of hoarhound in a quart of water, and let it draw by the fire; put a tea-cupful of dried elecampane root in a pint of water, cover it close, and let it boil till all the strength is out; strain it and the hoarhound together, and put them to boil with a pound of sugar; when it is a rich syrup, pour it in a pitcher to cool, and bottle it. Take a table-spoonful at a time when the cough is troublesome. Sometimes flaxseed is a useful addition to this syrup.

Source: Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers, Elizabeth E. Lea

Elderberry Syrup

June 16th, 2021

Wash and strain the berries, which should be perfectly ripe, to a pint of the juice put a pint of molasses. Boil it twenty minutes, stirring it constantly; then take it from the fire, and when cold add to each quart four table spoonsful of brandy; bottle and cork it. This is an excellent remedy for a tight cough.

Source: The New England Cook Book

Syrup for a Cough

February 15th, 2021

Boil 1 oz. balsam of tolu, very gently, two hours, in a quart of water; add 1 lb. white sugar candy, finely beaten, and boil it half an hour longer. Strain through a flannel bag twice; when cold, bottle it. You may add 2 oz. syrup of red poppies, and the same of raspberry vinegar. A spoonful when the cough is troublesome.

Or: 2 oz. honey, 4 table-spoonsful vinegar, 2 oz. syrup white poppies, and 2 oz. gum arabic: boil gently to the consistency of treacle; a tea-spoonful when the cough is troublesome.

Or: 1 table-spoonful treacle, 1 of honey, 1 of vinegar, 15 drops laudanum, and 15 drops peppermint. Simmer together a quarter of an hour. A dessert-spoonful to be taken at going to bed.

Or: mix together in a phial, 2 drachms of compound tincture of benjamin, 6 drachms ethereal spirits of nitre, 3 drachms of compound tincture of camphor, and 5 drachms of oxymel; a tea-spoonful in a wine-glass of warm water, when the cough is troublesome.

Or: mix 1 oz. gum arabic, 1 oz. sugar candy, and the juice of a lemon; pour on it a pint of boiling water; a little when the cough is troublesome.

Source: The English Housekeeper, Anne Cobbett

Garlic Syrup, for Hooping, or any other Cough

April 14th, 2020

Put 3 roots of garlic, sliced thinly and transversely, with 4 oz. honey, and 4 oz. vinegar, into a 1/2 pint bason, and set that into a large wash-hand bason; let it infuse half an hour, then strain it. Take the first in the morning, and the last at night, a tea-spoonful of the syrup, in an equal quantity of brandy and water; put the water in the glass first.

Source: The English Housekeeper, Anne Cobbett

Elecampane and Hoarhound Syrup

October 12th, 2019

Put a pint of hoarhound in a quart of water, and let it draw by the fire; put a tea-cupful of dried elecampane root in a pint of water, cover it close, and let it boil till all the strength is out; strain it and the hoarhound together, and put them to boil with a pound of sugar; when it is a rich syrup, pour it in a pitcher to cool, and bottle it. Take a table-spoonful at a time when the cough is troublesome. Sometimes flaxseed is a useful addition to this syrup.

Source: Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers, Elizabeth E. Lea

Infant’s Syrup

January 18th, 2019

The syrup is made thus: one pound best box raisins, half an ounce of aniseseed, two sticks licorice; split the raisins, pound the aniseseed, and cut the licorice fine; add to it three quarts of rain water, and boil down to two quarts. Feed three or four times a day, as much as the child will willingly drink. The raisins are to strengthen, the anise is to expel the wind, and the licorice as a physic.

Source: Our Knowledge Box, ed. G. Blackie

Whooping Cough Syrup

November 7th, 2018

One ounce flax seed, one ounce slippery elm, one ounce boneset, one ounce stick liquorice, one and one-half pounds loaf sugar, one pint Orleans molasses. Put first three ingredients in thin muslin bag, and boil one hour in sufficient water to cover well. Dissolve the liquorice in one pint of water; then boil all together a few moments.

DOSE.–One teaspoonful every hour or two, as the case may require.

Source: Recipes Tried and True

Beer, Restoration of Spoiled

October 16th, 2018

I.—Powdered chalk is poured into the cask and allowed to remain in the beer until completely precipitated.

II.—The liquor of boiled raisins may be poured into the beer, with the result that the sour taste of the beer is disguised.

III.—A small quantity of a solution of potash will remove the sour taste of beer. Too much potash must not be added; otherwise the stomach will suffer. Beer thus restored will not keep long.

IV.—If the beer is not completely spoiled it may be restored by the addition of coarsely powdered charcoal.

V.—If the addition of any of the above-mentioned substances should affect the taste of the beer, a little powdered zingiber may be used to advantage. Syrup or molasses may also be employed.

Source: Henley’s Twentieth Century Formulas, Recipes and Processes

Cough Syrup

May 25th, 2017

Syrup of squills four ounces, syrup of tolu four ounces, tincture of bloodroot one and one-half ounces, camphorated tincture of opium four ounces. Mix. Dose for an adult, one teaspoonful repeated every two to four hours, or as often as necessary.

Source: The White House Cookbook, F.L. Gillette

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    NOTE: these remedies are listed only for information and/or amusement. They are not to be construed as medical advice of any type, nor are they recommended for use. Consult your doctor or other medical professional for any medical advice you require.