Fire Cider

Written By Savannah Bukant

*Disclaimer: this blog is intended for use as educational content only and is not to be used as medical advice. Please with with a licensed medical professional for diagnosis and treatment of your medical concerns.

Fire cider is an age-old home remedy taken to strengthen the immune system and defend the body against sickness. It an be used daily to help prevent sickness, or dosed at the first sign of cold or flu to support the body’s immune defenses. In addition to its antimicrobial properties and immune support, fire cider sparks digestion, helps heal the gut, clears the respiratory tract, and stimulates circulation.

 

Fire cider harnesses the power of nature through concentrated botanical constituents found in most homes—honey, vinegar, and common vegetables, herbs, and spices. It’s a simple recipe and can be a fun activity to start engaging with your own homemade medicine.

 

The great part about homemade fire cider? You can’t mess it up! Choose your favorite flavors and ratios to make it your own. I give suggested amounts of each ingredient in parentheses as a starting point, but feel free to get creative, as long as all of the organic material is covered in the vinegar and honey.

 

Ingredients:

  • Raw local honey

  • Raw apple cider vinegar (with the “mother)

  • Onion, chopped (1 large)

  • Garlic, peeled and minced (10 cloves)

  • Ginger root, peeled and grated (2 inches)

  • Turmeric root, grated (1 inch)

  • Horseradish, peeled and grated (2 inches)

  • Culinary herbs*, fresh or dried, to taste: Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Oregano, Nettles

  • Jalepeño or Cayenne**, small amounts depending on your spice preference 

 

*Dried herbs are stronger than fresh and require smaller quantities.

**Horseradish is incredibly potent (you’ll understand when you start chopping it). If you don’t love spicy things, you may skip the jalepeño and cayenne and stick to the horseradish alone.

 

Process

  1. Chop up your vegetables into fine pieces—the smaller you chop, the more medicine you’ll get from the plants. I like to place the garlic, ginger, turmeric, and horseradish into my food processor, as it’s much faster and more effective than grating by hand.

  2. Fill your jar(s) with herb, roughly 2/3-3/4 full, then top with equal parts vinegar & honey. Use more vinegar than honey to make a less-sweet version.

  3. Cover the opening of the jar with wax or parchment paper, then tightly secure the lid. Label your jar with the date and description. Place in a cool, dark place.

  4. Shake your love, joy, and good intentions into your fire cider daily for 2-4 weeks.

  5. Strain into a clean bowl. You can line the strainer with cheesecloth to filter out the smaller pieces. Press or squeeze out as much liquid as your can from the herbal material. Compost the herb, or save it to add into soups, sautés, etc.

  6. Pour fire cider into clean (preferably sterile) jars. Seal tightly, label with the date, and keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 year.

 

Suggested use*

Take 1 teaspoon – 2 tablespoons daily for ongoing immune support. At the first sign of a cold or when needing more immune support, increase to 1 TBS three times daily or 1 tsp every few hours. Can take as a shot, add to a glass of water, or use it in the kitchen as a sauce, marinade, or salad dressing.

 

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Savannah Bukant
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