Shirley : My first impression: Yummy sweet floral pick me up syrup!
Amy:
Recipe:
1 pint(500ml) honeysuckle flowers
2 cups(500ml) sugar
2 cups(500ml) hot boiling water
1. Remove any greeneries from the flowers. Give it a quick rinse.
2. Put flowers in a cafetiere, pour 2 cups of boiling water from kettle into the cafetiere and let steep for 15 to 30 minutes or longer. Push plunger down to separate flowers from the tea.
3. Transfer the tea to a pot and bring to boil, add the sugar. Stir till dissolved. For thicker syrup, boil a little longer to reduce the liquid further. Note the syrup will become thicker when cooled.
4. Decant hot bpiling syrup into sterilised jars, seal, cap & let cool. Refrigerate once opened.
Uses: as syrup to flavour drinks, over pancakes, in oats porridge etc.
Medicinal properties:
Honeysuckle have been used for digestive disorders including pain and swelling (inflamation) of the small intestine(enteritis) and dysentery ; upper respiratory tract infections including colds, influenza, swine flu & pneumonia; other viral & bacterial infections; encephalitis, fever, boils & sores, urinary disorders, headache, diabetes,, rheumatoid arthritis & cancer.
It has also been used to promote sweating, as a laxative to counteract poisoning and for birth control.
Honeysuckle has sometimes been also applied to the skin to reduce inflammation and itching, and to kill germs.
All the above still require more research to rate its effectivenes.
Interesting facts:
For treatment of inflamation of small air passages in the lung ( bronchitis), early research suggests a combination of honeysuckle, Baikal skullcap, and forsythia given by IV (intravenously) by a healthcare provider might shorten the length of symptoms of brochiolitis in children with respiratory syncytial virus infection.
Follow the link for more info on foraging for honeysuckle: • Harvesting Honeysuckle...