? about Marshmallow root

[brightblessings5]

Can anyone give me some idea of how much volume 2oz of cut marshmallow root would be? Thanks

[Mother]

Hi BB5, It would depend, of course, on the dryness of the product but I would suggest you use approximately 3/4 of a cup (+ or -) to equal 2 ounces. Depending on what you are using it for, it probably won't make a huge difference.

 

Hope this helps.

 

[brightblessings5]

Thanks so much for the quick reply mother. I am trying out a new recipe for a dry cough/sore throat syrup.

 

2 oz marshmallow root

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup distilled water

Soak the root in the water for 2 hours. Add sugar, heat to a boil, cool, strain and refrigerate.

 

Many thanks!

[Mother]

That sounds like a fairly normal recipe. Because marshmallow is a root you might want to at least make that distilled water boiling when you put it on the herb. Roots and barks take a bit more to extract their properties compared to leafy herbs. I usually simmer roots and bark at least ten minutes and then let set until cool. Or in your recipe, add the sugar and bring back to a boil and then cool.

 

A couple great additions to that recipe might be Wild Cherry Bark (dried, not fresh as fresh can be toxic, dried wild cherry bark is still used in a lot of our commercial cough drops)and slippery elm bark (this is nutritious as well as very soothing both to the throat and to the lungs). You can mix and match those for a pretty effective cough and sore throat recipe. These are all considered fairly safe herbs even for children.

 

Did you know that you could use the same "tea" to make lozenges with? Find a good hard candy recipe and substitute the Marshmallow Root (and/or slippery elm and wild cherry bark)tea for the liquid. When these set up into hard candies they make great cough and throat drops. These keep quite well if they don't get damp. I made some of these just last week.

[brightblessings5]

Those sound like great ideas. Luckily, I even have the Slippery Elm and the Wild Cherry Bark from when I tried your All Purpose Cold and Flu Tea a few months ago!

Thanks