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What is Fire Cider?

Fire Cider is an amazing natural remedy that will boost your immune system and help protect you from getting those frustrating seasonal viruses that always seem to be floating around.

This powerful tonic looks different from home to home, but generally they contain a fermented mixture of:

• apple cider vinegar
• hot peppers
• garlic
• onions
• and horseradish root.

After fermenting for several weeks, the liqud is strained into a new jar and honey can be added to help sweeten the homemade tonic.

These other tubers, citrus, herbs and spices are ones that I’ve either used in my own fire cider, or I’ve heard of folks using in theirs:

• Turmeric
• Ginger
• Lemon
• Orange
• Lime
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Star anise
• All Spice Berries
• Peppercorns
• Cinnamon stick

All of these are amazing ingredients on their own, and packed full of nutrition and natural medicine for our bodies. When put together, all of these are one powerful kick to get rid of illness!

On a personal note, special mention should go to my mother, Sharon, who became known in our church and homeschooling community for having her own variation of fire cider, or “Sharon’s Brew”.

In our home growing up, it was the dreaded jar in the fridge that had been fermenting for AGES and honestly tasted quite deadly. The longer it fermented in the jar, the more potent the hot peppers made the taste of the liquid.

Whenever colds or illness came around, out came the jar and a handful of spoons to dip into the liquid and swallow the awful stuff. No honey to sweeten it for us!

But it worked. And it was a much better solution than popping pharmaceutical drugs into our bodies.

That’s why natural medicine is so important: you know exactly what is going into your body, and you are using herbs and natural foods to look after the health of your body —the way that our Creator intended.

Where Does Fire Cider Come From?

The idea of fire cider has been used for thousands of years by herbalists, physicians and apothecaries, who would ferment different foods, spices and herbs to make this amazing natural remedy.

However, it wasn’t until around 1970 that a well known herbalist and author named Rosemary Gladstar began encouraging the public to make their own apple cider vinegar tonic, and made the name “Fire Cider” popular. You can read more in her book “Fire Cider! 101 Zesty Recipes for Health-Boosting Remedies”.

On that note, she has many more amazing books on medicinal herbs and natural remedies that you can check out HERE.

Why is it Called “Fire Cider”?

The “fire” part of it is from the hot peppers that ferment in the apple cider vinegar and give it that special “kick” that fire cider is known for.

Health Benefits of Fire Cider Ingredients:

Please note, that although this is an amazing and medicinally powerful mixture of fermented goodness, I do not have a medical or herbalist degree. So when I recommend making this recipe, it is purely from experience and my own research that leads me to write about this topic.

I am passionate about learning all I can about natural medicine, and sharing what I have learned on this blog. I highly encourage anyone interested to learn more from seasoned herbalists like Rosemary Gladstar,

Reasons NOT to take Fire Cider:

Based on my research, I do not recommend taking this every day if you are pregnant or if you have acid reflux or other chronic digestive problems. I also wouldn’t give it to a young child.

Ways to take the Fire Cider:

If you have a sensitive stomach and cannot take it strait, here are some other ways to still take fire cider:

• Dilute it with juice or other beverage
• Mix it into your meal
• Use it as a tangy salad dressing
• Use it as a marinade

How to Make Your Own Fire Cider:

Supplies Needed:

• Cutting Board
• Knives
• 2x 1 litre glass jars with lids
• Food handling gloves

Ingredients:

• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Fresh horseradish root
• Onion
• Garlic
• Ginger root
• Turmeric root
• Hot peppers (chillies, jalepenos, your preference how hot you want it!)
• Lemon
• Orange
• Rosemary (fresh or dried)
• Star anise
• Peppercorns (10-15 per 1 litre jar)
• Cinnamon stick

Directions:

1. Cut all fresh ingredients up and stuff into jars. Add spices in.
2. Fill the jar up to the top with apple cider vinegar, making sure that all the ingredients are covered to prevent mold from growing.
3. Use a plastic jar lid or put a layer of parchment paper between the jar and the metal lid so that the vinegar doesn’t react with the metal.
4. Give jar a shake once a day, and switch the lid once a week or as needed.
5. Ferment for 4 weeks.
6. Use a fine mesh or cheesecloth strainer to strain out the jar contents and return liquid to fresh jars.
7. Store in fridge and use within one year.
8. For an adult: take three times a day when feeling ill, or take once a day as a tonic to boost and protect your immune system. (Dosage recommended by theherbalacademy.com)

Additional Notes:

• You can add honey directly to the jar until it has reached the desired taste to off-set the “kick”, or you can store the jar with just the fermented liquid and add sweetener as you take it. I usually take my “ medicine shot” with homemade elderberry syrup to use instead of honey to sweeten it.

• 2 packed 1-litre jars produces around 750-1000ml of finished fire cider.

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