Make this Fire Cider Recipe from Scratch

Fire cider is a folk remedy used to increase your circulation, warm your insides, and kick cold and flu symptoms to the curb. This is my go-to fire cider recipe. I’ve made it yearly since around 2014.

There are many variations on fire cider, and the main benefit I find from making this herbal tonic is that I can work with what I have on hand, and what will work for my family. So, this tonic recipe is a guide line and you can tweak and adjust the recipe for your family’s tastes and preferences. If you have young kids maybe including lemon and orange and omitting cayenne pepper will make it useful for you, for example. If you like spicy things, maybe you add more cayenne or use other hot peppers in addition to the cayenne. Either way, feel free to adjust this recipe to your needs, and your family’s needs.

Make this Fire Cider Recipe from Scratch

Fire cider is a folk remedy used to increase your circulation, warm your insides, and kick cold and flu symptoms to the curb. Also called “Master Tonic” or “Mother Tonic,” it is used in conjunction with elderberry syrup and echinacea tincture, to strengthen your immune system.  Use it this winter. It’s very easy to make, especially if you have the ingredients on hand from your own garden. If you have to buy the ingredients, purchase organic ingredients, as the vitality of the herbs is stronger when grown organically, on naturally fertilized soil.

Every ingredient in Fire Cider is food. There are no drugs here.

If you can’t find one of the ingredients you can leave it out or get some from the grocery store, dried spices can be substituted for fresh and fresh for dried depending on what you have available. If you are wondering what action each of the ingredients has in the blend, just nibble some of each ingredient and see how your own body reacts.  Every person has a different constitution.  Some people are warm and some are cold.  Some people are moist and some are dry. All of these herbs can be immune-boosting and many are good against inflammation and full of antioxidants.

How you respond when you bite a piece of raw horseradish or raw onion may be different than how your friend reacts.  Keep this in mind as you formulate your own personal fire cider blend. If you tend to be on the cold side, add more of the warming ginger and turmeric to the blend. If you tend to be hot, the vinegar in this mixture is cooling by itself. Other cooling herbs for immune building are echinacea and elderberry.

Most fire cider recipes come from adaptations of Rosemary Gladstar’s folk remedy. This is my version. I add turmeric and astragalus for the extra immune boost and warmth.

Make this Fire Cider Recipe from Scratch

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• Author: Chris

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Description

Fire cider is a folk remedy used to increase your circulation, warm your insides, and kick cold and flu symptoms to the curb.

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Ingredients

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• 3 large heads of organic garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 medium organic onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 4-inch piece of organic horseradish, coarsely grated
• 1 4-inch piece of organic ginger, coarsely grated
• 1/2 teaspoon organic cayenne spice
• 2 tablespoon organic turmeric powder
• 2 tablespoon organic astragalus
• 3 cups of raw organic apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup of local raw honey (optional)

Equipment:

• Cheesecloth
• 1-quart mason jar

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Instructions

1. Prepare all ingredients by cleaning and chopping
2. Layer these in a 1-quart mason jar
3. Fill the jar with vinegar until the ingredients are completely covered
4. Use a chopstick to release any trapped air. Cover with more vinegar if necessary, so that all vegetables are completely covered with vinegar
5. Let this mixture sit for 4 to 6 weeks, at room temperature. Shake daily or as often as you think of it
6. After 4 to 6 weeks, strain the infused cider through a cheesecloth, being careful to squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the vegetables. Reserve the liquid (feed the merk to your chickens or add it to the compost pile)
7. To the strained, infused vinegar, add 1 cup of raw honey or to taste

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Notes

• If you have to buy the ingredients, purchase organic ingredients, as the vitality of the herbs is stronger when grown organically, on naturally fertilized soil.
• If you can’t find one of the ingredients you can leave it out or get some from the grocery store.
• This recipe is just as effective if you leave the honey out but it is quite a bit spicier. For those who do not enjoy the spice, add honey to taste.
• Rosemary Gladstar recommends taking 1 teaspoon. of fire cider a day during the winter to warm the body, boost the immune system, and enhance circulation.
• Take 2 tablespoons a day at the first sign of cold or flu, to help your body deal with it quickly.

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Fire Cider Ingredients:

• 3 large heads of organic garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped (20 garlic cloves)
• 2 medium organic onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 4-inch piece of organic fresh horseradish root, coarsely grated
• 1 4-inch piece of organic fresh ginger, coarsely grated
• 1/2 teaspoon organic cayenne spice, or chili peppers
• 2 tablespoon organic turmeric powder, or grated turmeric root
• 2 tablespoon organic astragalus
• 3 cups of raw organic apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup of local raw honey (optional)

Method:

1. Prepare all ingredients by cleaning and chopping.
2. Layer these in a 1-quart mason jar.
3. Fill the jar with vinegar until the ingredients are completely covered.
4. Use a chopstick to stir the jar and release any trapped air. Cover with more vinegar if necessary, so that all vegetables are completely covered with vinegar. Lid the jar.
5. Let this mixture sit for 4 to 6 weeks, at room temperature. Shake daily or as often as you think of it.

After 4 to 6 weeks, strain the infused cider through a cheesecloth, being careful to squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the vegetables. Reserve the liquid and feed the merk, or pulp, to your chickens or add it to the compost pile.

To the strained, infused vinegar, add 1 cup of raw honey or to taste. This recipe is just as effective if you leave the honey out but it is quite a bit spicier. For those who do not enjoy the spice, add honey to taste. If you plan to use your fire cider in salad dressings, or as a marinade for meats, omit the honey for now. You can always add honey to your salad dressing or marinade on a case by case or recipe by recipe basis.

Note: 1 1/3 cups of honey equals 1 pound of honey.

Fire Cider Variations:

There are as many different variations on fire cider as there are people who make it. Many of the warming herbs also support digestion, and you can substitute in other herbs as well.

Lemon is frequently included, pith, juice, and all, for it’s vitamin content as well as it’s digestive support. Oranges are sometimes used instead of lemon for their sweetness, which can let you reduce the honey in the recipe if you use honey.

Cayenne pepper is also a frequent addition, though any hot peppers can also be used. They are warming and carminative herbs with many health benefits. You can use whatever hot peppers are available in your area, or whatever hot peppers you grow in your garden.

I use ginger root in my blend, as well as turmeric. You can add black peppercorns if you’re using turmeric to make the curcumin more available in the blend. Sometimes cinnamon sticks are also added.

For flavors, you can somewhat go by instinct. The flavors of most warming herbs will blend well with the vinegar. And you can add in complementary flavors from your garden if you wish, thyme is a cooling herb. Rosemary could also be used for cooling in the blend. Lemon balm would also be cooling and compliment many of the warmer flavors, especially if you’re also using lemons.

Don’t be afraid to experiment with this homemade fire cider recipe, or try out fire cider your way and get it even closer to your personal tastes.

How to use Fire Cider:

Rosemary Gladstar recommends taking 1 teaspoon of fire cider tonic a day during winter flu season to warm the body, boost the immune system, and enhance circulation. Take 2 tablespoons a day at the first sign of cold or flu, to help your body deal with it quickly.

Add Fire Cider to salad dressings, put a teaspoon in a bowl of soup, or just take it right off the spoon. I actually like the taste, without the honey.  Honey soothes a sore throat and cough though, so if you have a sore throat consider adding the honey.

Other Cold Remedies from Joybilee Farm

Natural Cold and Flu Remedies to Beat the Winter Chill

Mullein for colds and flu

A Little Ginger Therapy for Colds and Flu

Learn more about using herbs for health and wellness from my Book

Homegrown Healing From Seed to Apothecary

My book Homegrown Healing From Seed to Apothecary will help you grow healing herbs in your own garden. Focusing on the easiest plants for beginners to grow, Homegrown Healing From Seed to Apothecary covers 30 plants, recommended by professional herbalists, that can be grown in the temperate zone. Initial garden preparation, garden design and harvesting tips lead the novice herbalist into early success. Choose which herbs to grow, learn how to use these herbs for your family’s health and wellness using the guidance in my book. You can find out more about this useful guide to growing more herbs and using them strategically here.