I recently picked up the brew your own fire cider craze. I jumped on the bandwagon when I heard a whole bunch of people talking about brewing their own concoction. Once I made my first batch I was not enthusiastic about it. I sniffed it, scrunched up my nose, put the lid back on and proceeded to stared at the finished product for a while. I moved it from one side of the fridge to the other while attempting to ignore it. Smell means everything to me and it was not even tempting me a little bit.
I guess I just didn’t quite feel icky enough to dare myself to take a shot of this odorific drink. But eventually a bug of some sort caught up to me. I dreaded the idea of another cold turning into months of asthmatic reactions in my body. So last week with a raw and sore throat, stuffy head, earache and major drainage I had to face down the minor phobia I had developed of trying this crazy brew.
I finally just did it. I mixed a generous portion of local honey with about an ounce of Fire Cider and took a leap of faith. The flavor was strong, but not as bad as my olfactory system had convinced me it would be. The results of taking two shots per day during my symptoms inspired me to get the next shot down, and then the next one. By day four I was felling significantly better. For me a cold can be the start of a significant asthmatic cycle, especially in the midst of allergy season. So now I’m hooked.
Fire Cider is a traditional remedy. My friend Alana Rivera, owner of Etta + Billie, told me she was taught the recipe in Hippy School. When she learned about it they buried the jar in the ground for 30 days, which makes me think shaking it every day must not be on overly important step since that would be impractical if you learned it in Hippy School.
Based on my experience I am making more Fire Cider today and sharing the recipe. I won’t be turning in my inhaler or nebulizer, but I’m certainly going to try adding this natural remedy to my gamut of natural remedies I already use first.
This recipe is for a single batch in a one quart jar. I used the basic ingredients and bonus ingredients in my batch. You can add whatever fresh herbs you have available to you.
- Fire Cider Basic Ingredients
- ½ cup grated Ginger Root
- ½ cup grated Horseradish Root
- ¼ cup grated Turmeric Root
- 1 medium Onion
- 10 crushed or chopped Cloves of Garlic
- 2 chopped Jalapeño Peppers
- 1 sliced Lemon
- 2 sprigs of Rosemary
- Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
- Local Raw Honey
- Fire Cider Bonus Ingredients that can be added: Habanero Pepper, Thyme, Peppercorns, Cinnamon Sticks, Clove Buds, Oregano, Orange, Lime, Star Anise, Cumin Seeds, Ginseng
- Add all the prepared herbs, spices, veggies and so forth that you plan on putting in your Fire Cider into a clean quart sized glass jar and then top it off with Apple Cider Vinegar.
- Next use a clean utensil to release any air pockets in your jar and add more vinegar.
- Once you have it all in be sure to thoroughly clean and dry the mouth of the jar, apply lid and shake.
- Over the next 30 days shake your brew once per day and store it in a cool, dark space.
- After 30 days use a cheesecloth to strain all of your additives out of the infused vinegar.
- I store mine unsweetened in the refrigerator until I am ready to use it.
- To consume pour 1 to 3 Tablespoons of Fire Cider into a small glass or shot glass, stir about half as much honey into the mixture. You can adjust to being sweeter or less sweet as you get used to drinking Fire Cider.
- Store your Fire Cider and the refrigerator for up to one year.
Maddie W. says
Wow! I can’t wait to try this!
Delores says
Thanks for the fire cider recipe Kayla.