This Week's Grandma Wisdom | Recipes for Taro Soup, Lemongrass Ginger Tea, Pear Ginger Tea, Hot Mulled Cider & Five-Grain Tea

All week long, grandmothers around the world brewed something warm. Korean taro soup and five-grain tea, Thai lemongrass ginger tea, a pear ginger tea inspired by Korean steamed pear, and classic American hot mulled cider — here are all five recipes, with the stories passed down behind them. Pick one to make tonight.

1. Taro Soup (Toran-guk) — Korea

Where it comes from

In Korea, families simmer a clear beef and taro soup with freshly dug taro around Chuseok, Korea's Thanksgiving. It's a holiday when rich food piles up, and people have long made taro soup at that time of year. Korea's most famous medical classic, the Dongui Bogam — written by a royal doctor about 400 years ago — says taro is mild by nature, keeps the stomach and bowels running smoothly, is harmful raw, but nourishes the body when cooked.

Ingredients (serves 4)

Ingredient	Amount
Taro	300 g (about 10½ oz)
Beef (brisket or thinly sliced)	150 g (about 5 oz)
Water	1200 ml (about 5 cups)
Minced garlic	10 g (2 tsp)
Korean soup soy sauce	15 ml (1 Tbsp)
Salt	2 g (to taste)
Green onion	10 g

How to make it

1. Wearing gloves, peel the taro.
2. Blanch the taro for 5 minutes, then pour off the water.
3. Put the beef in the 1200 ml (about 5 cups) of water and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Add the taro and garlic, simmer 15 minutes more, season with soy sauce and salt, and add the green onion.

What's good about it

• A warm broth helps you get fluids in
• You get protein along with it

What science says

We haven't found research testing whether taro soup helps digestion. We share it as wisdom passed down through generations.

Today's rating: Evidence ★ · Safety 🟢 · Best enjoyed: in the harvest season, 1 bowl

Just be careful about

• Always cook taro thoroughly — raw taro contains needle-shaped crystals called calcium oxalate that make the mouth and throat sting and itch.
• Wear gloves when peeling — the same substance can make bare hands itch.

2. Lemongrass Ginger Tea (ชาตะไคร้ขิง) — Thailand

Where it comes from

Thai families have long brewed ginger and lemongrass tea after meals or when they feel chilled. In traditional Thai herbal knowledge, ginger was said to ease a bloated belly.

Ingredients (serves 2)

Ingredient	Amount
Lemongrass	40 g (2 stalks, or 4 g dried)
Ginger	10 g
Water	500 ml (about 2 cups)
Honey	7 g (1 tsp, optional)

How to make it

1. Bruise the lemongrass with the back of a knife and cut into 3 cm (about 1 inch) pieces.
2. Add the ginger and water and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Strain and enjoy. Add honey if you like.

What's good about it

• Human studies suggest ginger may ease nausea
• Sipping it warm helps you stay hydrated

What science says

There's little human research on lemongrass tea itself. For ginger, studies in people suggest it may ease nausea, especially during pregnancy (summary by the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, NCCIH).

Today's rating: Evidence ★★ · Safety 🟢 · Best enjoyed: after meals, 1–2 cups a day

Just be careful about

• If you get heartburn or an upset stomach, use less ginger — in some people ginger can cause mild side effects like heartburn, belly discomfort, or diarrhea.

3. Pear Ginger Tea — A World Twist

Where it comes from

This is an easy tea version of Korean baesuk (steamed or simmered pear) and Chinese pear soup. In Korea, grandmothers made baesuk for colds, sore throats, and coughs. Ginger was believed to warm the body, honey to soothe the throat, and pear to help digestion. China's 1596 herbal classic, the Bencao Gangmu, describes pear as moistening the lungs and easing phlegm.

Ingredients (serves 2)

Ingredient	Amount
Pear	200 g (about 7 oz)
Ginger	10 g (thinly sliced)
Water	500 ml (about 2 cups)
Honey	14 g (2 tsp)

How to make it

1. Slice the pear thinly.
2. Simmer with the ginger and water for 15 minutes.
3. Strain, then stir in the honey.

What's good about it

• Human studies suggest ginger may ease nausea
• Studies (in children) suggest honey may help calm a cough
• Sipping it warm helps you stay hydrated

What science says

There's no research on pear ginger tea itself. For honey, a 2021 analysis of 14 studies (BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine) found it reduced how often and how hard people coughed with a cold, compared with usual care (evidence versus placebo is limited). Ginger has studies on nausea.

Today's rating: Evidence ★★ · Safety 🟢 · Best enjoyed: when your throat feels scratchy, 1–2 cups a day

4. Hot Mulled Cider (No Alcohol) — USA

Where it comes from

In America, during the fall harvest, people have long warmed apple juice with spices on chilly evenings.

Ingredients (serves 2)

Ingredient	Amount
Pasteurized 100% apple juice	400 ml (about 1⅔ cups)
Cinnamon stick	1
Whole cloves	3
Orange slices	2

How to make it

1. If you're using raw (unpasteurized) cider, bring it to a boil first.
2. Put all the ingredients in a pot.
3. Warm on low for 10 minutes.
4. Lift out the spices.

The old way and the safer way

• The old way: freshly pressed, unpasteurized cider went straight into the pot with the spices and was simply warmed.
• What we changed: use juice labeled "pasteurized," or bring raw cider to a boil first.
• Why: raw cider can carry food-poisoning germs like E. coli O157 or Salmonella, and just warming it may not kill them all. Older adults can get very sick if infected.
• Any trade-off? Boiling or pasteurizing can change that fresh-pressed aroma a little, but no health benefit unique to raw cider has been shown. A small difference in flavor isn't worth the risk of food poisoning.

What's good about it

• Sipping it warm helps you stay hydrated
• It uses ingredients that contain vitamin C

What science says

We haven't found research on the health effects of mulled cider itself. We share it as a traditional American fall drink.

Today's rating: Evidence ★ · Safety 🟢 · Best enjoyed: on a chilly fall evening, 1 cup

Just be careful about

• Always use apple juice labeled "pasteurized." If you use raw cider from a farm or market, boil it first — when apples are pressed, germs like E. coli O157 or Salmonella can get in from fallen or unwashed apples or unsanitized equipment. Pasteurization heats the juice to a high temperature to kill these germs. Older adults, children, and people with weak immune systems can get very sick if infected, and refrigerating or freezing does not kill the germs.

5. Five-Grain Tea (Ogok-cha) — Korea

Where it comes from

A nutty Korean home tea made by simmering roasted grains and drinking it like water. Korean families have long sipped roasted grain tea instead of water at meals or when their stomach felt off. A Korean book of medicine from about 400 years ago, the Donguibogam, describes barley as a grain that warms the body and settles the stomach.

Ingredients (serves 5)

Ingredient	Amount
Roasted five grains (barley, brown rice, black soybeans, corn, job's tears, etc.)	20 g (about 2 Tbsp)
Water	1000 ml (about 4 cups)

How to make it

1. (If roasting your own) Rinse and dry the grains, then toast each grain separately — they brown at different speeds — in a dry pan over low heat until golden and nutty-smelling. Pre-roasted grain-tea mixes are also sold in stores.
2. When the water boils, add the grains.
3. Simmer on low for 10–15 minutes.
4. Strain and drink warm or chilled.

What's good about it

• Sipping it warm helps you stay hydrated
• No caffeine, so it's easy to enjoy in the evening

What science says

No one has tested five-grain tea itself. For its main grain, barley, a small 2019 study in Japan (randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover, 12 people analyzed) found that people who drank roasted barley tea kept warmer feet in a 25.5°C (78°F) air-conditioned room. It's one small study, so we simply say "there's a report."

Today's rating: Evidence ★★ · Safety 🟢 · Best enjoyed: with meals, instead of water

Just be careful about

• With store-bought grain mixes, check the allergy label — they may contain allergens like soy or wheat.

This Week at a Glance

Recipe	Country	Evidence	Safety
Taro soup	Korea	★	🟢
Lemongrass ginger tea	Thailand	★★	🟢
Pear ginger tea	World twist	★★	🟢
Hot mulled cider	USA	★	🟢
Five-grain tea	Korea	★★	🟢

This week, the ones with some research behind them were lemongrass ginger tea, pear ginger tea, and five-grain tea. Enjoy the taro soup and mulled cider as wisdom passed down through generations.

How we'd enjoy them

Mulled cider on a chilly evening, pear ginger tea when your throat feels scratchy, five-grain tea at the table instead of water — and on the weekend, a pot of taro soup that serves 4, to share with family.

Common cautions

• Never give honey to babies under 1 year old — honey can contain botulism spores, and babies under 1 can't yet fight off these germs. (Lemongrass ginger tea, pear ginger tea)
• If you have diabetes, go easy on the sweet ingredients — sugary foods and drinks can raise blood sugar quickly. (Honey in pear ginger tea, apple juice)

Sources

• Rural Development Administration (Korea) Green Magazine: Taro
• Vegetables.co.nz: Taro (calcium oxalate in raw taro)
• NCCIH: Ginger
• Abuelgasim H. et al. Effectiveness of honey for symptomatic relief in upper respiratory tract infections, BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine 2021;26:57-64
• Food Safety News: FDA — be careful of unpasteurized apple cider this fall
• NCCIH: Cinnamon
• Health Canada: Unpasteurized fruit juices and cider
• Roasted Barley Extract (Mugicha) Containing Cyclo(d-Phe-l-Pro), J Nutr Sci Vitaminol 2019;65:90-93

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This article introduces traditional food customs. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please talk to your doctor if you have health concerns.