Fire Cider
Fire cider is an herbal folk recipe that stimulates the immune system and the digestion, and it has warming characteristics, making it the perfect addition to your winter apothecary. Apple cider vinegar, honey and spices have a long history of traditional uses, but this particular configuration has been popularized by Californian herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, who gave enticing name.
This is one of those recipes that have lots of variations, and the basic recipe allows for adjustments based on your personal taste and bioregion. My own fire cider is deeply inspired by my own herbal studies. I grab many of the ingredients from my garden and can’t resist popping in a few heads of wild lavender and rose-hips too.
It is a warming recipe, so, even if you’re playing around with variations, make sure to keep (at least some of) the staple warming ingredients: onion, garlic, ginger, horseradish, hot peppers and turmeric.
Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
2 heads garlic, chopped
1 lemon with peel, diced
1/2 cup fresh ginger root, grated
1/2 cup fresh turmeric root, grated
1/4 cup fresh horseradish root, grated
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
1 fresh chilli pepper, chopped
3 heads of dry lavender
4 fresh rose-hips, split in half, hairy pith and seeds thoroughly cleaned out
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups apple cider vinegar (or enough to cover it all. I sometimes use kombucha vinegar — basically, over-fermented kombucha that I always keep aside to use as vinegar)
1/3 cup of local honey (or more, if desired)
directions
Mix all ingredients, except the honey, in a wide-mouther jar and cover with vinegar.
Place some parchment paper on top of the jar before screwing the lid on, to avoid rust created by the vinegar in contact with the metal (alternatively, use a plastic lid).
Leave to infuse for about 4 weeks before straining.
Add honey, stir well and taste, adding more honey if needed.
Bottle and label. It will keep for several months on a dark and cool shelf.
Some of my favourite uses for fire cider:
a tablespoon in a glass of water to start the day
as a salad dressing, on its own or mixed with olive oil
sprinkled over rice and other cooked grains
Quoting the Herbal Academy, here is some more supporting information about the uses of this wonderful herbal recipe:
(…) as a defense against cold and flu pathogens, at the first sign of cold symptoms, and as a decongestant and expectorant when the cold has set in. Not only an immune tonic, homemade fire cider also stimulates digestion and helps moves circulation throughout the body and to the periphery (which helps keep us warm on cold winter days!).
If you’re now getting ready to make your own batch of fire cider but have got questions about replacing ingredients, the Herbal Academy has got a really helpful troubleshooting resource.
Happy Yuletide, you all!
