Onion juice: How to make cough syrup yourself

When your throat is scratchy and a cold is on the way, onion juice can do wonders. The juice extracted from onions is a proven household remedy that has long been used in folk medicine, especially to treat coughs in young children. The beauty of onion juice is that you can easily make it yourself. Here is how the vegetable works, and a recipe that makes onion juice easy to make on your own.

In a nutshell: Make your own onion juice as a cough syrup

Onion juice with honey helps with coughs and colds. Onions contain essential oils and sulfur-containing compounds that act against germs and inflammation. To make the juice, peel a medium-sized onion, chop it into small cubes and put everything into a screw-top jar. Add three tablespoons of honey or sugar and let it steep for a few hours or overnight. Then strain the juice with a coffee filter or tea strainer. For ailments like irritable cough, you can take three to five teaspoons several times a day.

Onion as a medicinal plant: What are the effects of this vegetable?

Onions contain essential oils, flavonoids and allicin. The latter is a sulfur compound that is responsible for the pungent smell of the vegetable. The ingredients have antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. Besides, onion juice fights not only bacteria, but also fungi and viruses, and is taken as a preventive measure in asthma attacks. The natural remedy makes nasal and throat mucous membranes decongest and is also used for sore throats or ear infections. Due to their high content of vitamin C, onions are the ideal protection against colds.

Recipe: How to make onion juice yourself?

The ingredients for homemade onion juice

• one medium sized onion, preferably a red one (red onions have twice as many antioxidants as light onion varieties)
• some honey, sugar or maple syrup
• a glass jar with a screw cap

Here’s how it goes

Peel the onion, chop it into small cubes and put them in a screw-top jar. Pour two to three tablespoons of honey, sugar or maple syrup over the onion pieces, stir the mixture and place in the refrigerator for several hours, preferably overnight. Then strain the resulting onion juice and pour the syrup into a smaller container. To improve the taste, you can also add some thyme.

Recipe variation: Boil onion juice

Peel and chop the onion coarsely, put the pieces in a pot and saute them over low heat without adding any fat. Deglaze the onion pieces with about 200 milliliters of water, add three tablespoons of honey and let the broth stand covered overnight. Then pour the syrup through a fine sieve.

Recipe variant: onion drops

Onion drops, which are prepared with alcohol, also help against irritable cough in adults: Cover two peeled and finely chopped onions with 50 milliliters of 40-percent alcohol and let the mixture steep for three hours. Then filter the decoction with a fine sieve. For acute symptoms and severe cough, you can take two teaspoons of the onion drops three to four times a day.

How to use onion juice?

Onion juice relieves the irritation of the cough, liquefies the mucus and facilitates expectoration. In case of discomfort, take a teaspoon of the cough syrup several times a day. Onion syrup is also good for children for coughs, colds, hoarseness and bronchitis. Important: The home remedy should not be used for children under one year of age, as they should not yet consume honey.