Making Fire Cider
What is Fire Cider?
Fire cider is a wonderful folk medicine that can help around cold/flu season. Each ingredient is itself a known herbal medicine and together they can form a strong potion to help stimulate the immune system with warming elements to kick any bug out of your system before it has the chance to fully take hold. You can find many fire cider options in local co-ops but it is easy and cost effective to make a large batch on your own and use up any garden bits you may have as well. While fire cider has been passed down as a folk medicine for many generations, this particular recipe comes from Rosemary Gladstar of Sage Mountain Herbs. As always, whenever considering a folk medicine, please do your homework. Consider multiple sources, make sure you’re confident of plant identification and doses, and be sure to consider your own unique health profile and needs. We are not professional herbalists. This is not meant to treat or advise — every situation is different. We’re merely passing along the folk wisdom we have received and benefited from in our own adventures.
A couple of useful resources:
Fire Cider Remedy by Rosemary Gladstar -- A nice overview video from the originator of this recipe. She shows a tutorial for making it while explaining the benefits of each of these medicinal plants and herbs as they combat cold and flu season.
Fire Cider!: 101 Zesty Recipes for health-boosting remedies made with Apple Cider Vinegar by Rosemary Gladstar — A nice companion cook book with additional details if you’re interested in more recipe detail and other folk medicine recipes.
The Battle for the One, True “Fire Cider’ — some background and recent news of this herbal remedy as it has moved from folk medicine, to popular trend and secured its place as the people’s medicine.
The basic steps for making it:
Our ingredients: 1 head garlic, 1 onion, 1 cup horseradish, 1/2 cup ginger, 1/2 cup turmeric, 1 whole lemon sliced, 1 tbsp peppercorn, 1 tbsp whole clove, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 fresh lemon sliced, 2 tbsp honey, 3-4 cups apple cider vinegar
Gather root ingredients and chop. Add to 64 oz canning jar.
Add remaining spices, lemon and honey to the jar
Fill remaining space with apple cider vinegar
Close lid tightly and mix gently
Put in dark, dry corner for approximately 4-6 weeks, turn jar occasionally to mix
Strain ingredients and discard to compost, keep the liquid
Store in refrigerator for 4-6 weeks
Take 1tbsp as needed
What we learned:
It is much easier to make than we could’ve imagined. Assembling the ingredients is perhaps the hardest part. Weirdly fresh horseradish can be hard to source. Call ahead to grocery stores or better yet, grow your own.
Waiting for it to be ready is easy and hard. It’s easy because there is literally nothing to do but wait. It’s hard because waiting is hard. And because sometimes planning is hard too —you think to make it when you maybe could already need it. So plan ahead. Make it around the time back to school begins. Make it again around Valentines Day.
Hot peppers (Cayenne) are best for a good medicinal punch. But our family (ahem, the kids) can’t quite go that fiery. It’s all good. There’s plenty of good medicine in every one of the ingredients and there’s a lot of benefits to stimulate the immune system and support health. Don’t sweat it if you’re not exact — you’ll still get a lift.
Every time we get a tickle in our throat or a runny nose or are starting to feel tired and low, we make sure to start taking it and we find it kicks the bug out of our system before it’s able to take hold and it increases our overall vitality.