Cola herb has a very strong aroma and, in addition to the delicious taste, it also has the advantage of not containing any caffeine. It is therefore wonderful for lemonade and liqueur, but can also be used as a tea. All you need to prepare it is the right ingredients and recipes. Since making syrup and other drinks is extremely easy, even children can help.
Suitable variety
The boar's rue is offered in two different versions: lemon boar's rue and cola boar's rue. If you want to use the herb for seasoning or tea, you can use both types. However, the variety with cola flavor or cola herb is better suited for lemonades.
Cola herb syrup
Syrup made from cola herb can be used to make caffeine-free cola drinks, sweets or even liqueur. The basic recipe for the syrup is very simple. All you need is:
- up to 500 milliliters of water
- two to four lemons with peel
- 750 grams of cane sugar
- approx. 120 grams of fresh cola herb
- Mixer or hand blender
- Whisk
- Pot
sieve
If the ingredients and required utensils are available, proceed as follows:
- Wash the lemons and cut them into small pieces including the peel. Grind as finely as possible in a blender or with a hand blender and then let stand for a few minutes.
- Put the lemon mixture in a fine-mesh sieve so that the pulp, peel and seeds are separated from the juice. In order to extract all the juice, the mass can be lightly squeezed in the sieve.
- The lemon juice is made up to 500 milliliters with water, placed in a pot with 750 grams of cane sugar and slowly heated while stirring. The sugar must dissolve completely.
- The mixture should caramelize slightly as it then has a particularly intense aroma. Once this is achieved, it is removed from the heat.
- The cola herb is washed and woody sections are separated. However, the shoots and pieces should be left as large as possible, as this makes them easier to remove. After this preparation, the herb is placed in the still hot sugar syrup and mixed with it.
- The pot is covered well and left in a warm place for twelve to 24 hours to steep.
- After the steeping time, the herb is filtered out of the sugar syrup. The syrup itself should be boiled again, as this will ensure or extend its shelf life.
- The flavored sugar syrup is ideally bottled in glass bottles and should be allowed to cool before being stored or used. Mason jars or plastic bottles are also suitable as long as they can be sealed airtight.
Note:
If stored in an airtight container, cool and dark, the beverage syrup will last for about a year. It is therefore worth making a larger quantity straight away and thereby stocking up.
Lemonade
When the cola syrup is ready and cooled, it can be used directly to make lemonade. All you have to do is mix it with carbonated water in the desired amount. This may require some experimentation until you find your own taste. However, one to two tablespoons of the syrup is usually enough for 250 to 300 milliliters of water.
It is best to first pour the syrup into the glass and then fill it with carbonated water. If water is poured in first and then the flavored sugar syrup, the amount of carbon dioxide is significantly reduced and the drink appears stale.
Tip:
Lemon slices, vanilla extract and cherry flavoring or cherry syrup can be used to vary the homemade cola.
Liqueur
In addition to the caffeine-free lemonade drink, the cola herb can also be drunk as a liqueur or flavored schnapps. The preparation is even easier than the syrup. All you need is:
- about 100 grams of cola herb shoot tips or young leaves
- 750 milliliters of at least 38 percent alcohol, such as vodka or Korn
- 250 grams of sugar or honey
- a glass bottle with a capacity of at least one liter
- a funnel
- a sieve
The preparation is also simple:
- The bottle is thoroughly cleaned and heated to 100 °C, for example by boiling.
- The cola herb is washed, dabbed and chopped.
- Sugar or honey are dissolved in the chosen liquor.
- The cola herb is added to the mixture and the bottle is sealed airtight.
- The mixture is shaken once a week to distribute the sugar well again.
- After four weeks, the liquor is filtered to remove the herb. Once again, it should then be filled into clean and, ideally, boiled bottles and sealed airtight.
Notes:
The cola herb is also suitable for mixing with other herbs, such as dandelion, mugwort, rosemary or thyme. The addition of lemon or orange peel also gives it a fruity aroma. The liqueur is already well infused after four weeks, but benefits from longer maturation.
Boar Rue Tea
To make tea from boar rue, you can use both lemon rue and cola herb. For a cup of 250 to 300 milliliters, either one teaspoon of dried herb or two teaspoons of fresh herb are required.
The water is boiled, the herb is added and covered and left to steep. For dried cola herb, the brewing time is around five minutes. With fresh herb, the tea can steep for up to ten minutes. However, the boar's rue should not remain in the tea infusion for longer, otherwise its medicinal herbal effect could be too strong or the desired effect may not be achieved. The infusion also tastes bitter.
Note:
Eberrue is used in herbal medicine for various ailments. The boar rue tea should therefore only be drunk in small quantities.
