Herbal Troches

It is a basic fact of physiology that digestion begins as soon as your body gets its first taste of a food. The taste of the substance stimulates your digestion and other physiological reactions, which accounts for some actions herbal preparations have in our bodies. Take bitters for example, they aren’t going to help with indigestion if you don’t taste them.

This is the primary reason that I don’t really care for capsules. I also don’t like to be dependent on things that I would not be able to get ahold of in the case of a supply chain interruption, so I make pastes and I dry them for future use.

A paste is a dough or thick electuary containing medicinal ingredients that might be eaten “raw” or dried for future use. Herbal pastes can be made tastily enough that a decent dosage of herbs can be ingested and digested the way nature intended.

In our historical manuscripts pastes dried as a round flat wafer might be called trochisk or troche, losanges, or cakes. A losange was originally a diamond shaped wafer meant to be held in the mouth and dissolved, but it wasn’t necessarily the hard candy that we think of today. These pastes might also be formed into little balls called roules (rolls) or pills. I think the wafer shape dries better which is why I prefer making troches.

As you look at this receipt you will see what I am doing is making a paste and then drying it in dosage size wafers for preservation. Alternatively if you have made a proper decoction you can just mix in some sort of neutral flour like rice or oat flour until a stiff dough forms. So lets first talk about what sorts of powdered and liquid ingredients you might use to make the paste.

Liquids

The oldest ingredients for pastes and pastilles often just call for water as a liquid. In older medieval manuscripts you might see them recommend using sweet barley wort, which refers to the wort you ferment to make beer. It is very sweet before it is introduced to the yeast beasties. Malt syrup, honey, or maple syrup are good choices for liquids that add some sweetness.

I like to use liquids that add to the therapeutic effect which is the traditional way to prepare them. Preparations like herbal syrups and hydrosols work very well. I use my cherry-thyme syrup in something I am mixing up to soothe a cough or a sore throat. Sometimes I add flavoring oils such as peppermint extract or lemon extract.

Powders

You should use one part neutral powder as a base.  In the oldest receipts they often used flour for this. I prefer using ground oats over barley and wheat just because so many people have problems with wheat these days. You could also use rice flour, or a pea powder. Brown rice powder and split pea powder are the base ingredients for vegan protein powders.

The other powders are your therapeutic ingredients, like powdered herbs and spices, as well as nutritious additions such as berry powders or powdered greens. This method can help you create a homemade multivitamin.

Here are a couple of examples:

Wafers for a Cough or Sore Throat

1 part ground oat powder
1 part licorice seeds or dried root powder
1 part anise seeds
1 part black currant powder
Cherry-thyme syrup for liquid.

Horehound Cough Drops

1 part powdered marshmallow root
1 part powdered licorice root
1 part powdered horehound leaves
Mint syrup for liquid

Basic Preparation Method

I’d like to give you more precise measurements than this but it just doesn’t work that way.  It is all very hands-on and depends a lot on the temperature, the humidity, how dry your herbs are, etc…  It is very trial-and-error.   Reminds me a lot of the way Grandma makes her pie dough- kneading in a few sprinkles at a time until the dough is “just right”.

1. Mix equal amounts of dry powders together in a bowl.
2. Slowly drizzle your liquids into the powders, mixing and kneading as you go.  You can see here how I use syrups that add to the efficacy of the preparation.
3. The final consistency should be smooth and pliable. As Elizabeth Talbot Grey taught us , the dough should form a mass that hangs to the pestle when you lift it above the mortar.
4. Roll into logs and slice into even slices.
5. Roll the slices in cacao, or powdered cinnamon, or any mixed spice blend for a nice final touch.
6. Put these wafers on a dehydrator tray and let them air dry or dry them on the very lowest setting. We don’t want to cook all our aromatics away.  

I hope you experiment with making your own favorites. Whether you’re soothing a cough or adding something to your daily health regimen, herbal pastes provide a hands-on, sustainable way to engage with herbal preparation that is adaptable for personal use.