Fire Cider: What it is & how to make it

Have you ever tried Fire Cider?

It’s a cleansing, warming folk tonic that boosts the immune system, reduces inflammation, supports the liver, aids digestion, is anti-bacterial and anti-viral…. I could go on but I think you get the idea.

Different people make it slightly different ways, but the base is apple cider vinegar (with the mother— the brown floaty gunk on the bottom that proves it’s alive…. I know), infused with an assortment of onions, garlic and hot peppers. I used: Onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric, hot peppers, horseradish, cinnamon, lemon, orange and honey. I love adding culinary herbs like oregano, thyme, and sage, but as I made this batch in the winter, I had no fresh herbs from my garden.

Take one teaspoon daily. If I’m feeling run down or sick, I take it more frequently. You can also repurpose the solid ingredients as a spicy marinade or chutney if you like!

Tips for taking this spicy stuff:

• Take the tonic like a shot — bottoms up! Orange juice makes a good chaser.

• Mix it into sauces and dressings — shhh no one will even know where that delightful kick came from or how it’s boosting their immune system.

• Pour a shot into a cup of hot water and add honey and lemon to create a warming tea.

There’s not exactly a recipe, more of a relax, dump-good-things-in-a-jar-and-wait. Which is my kinda rule-chucking kitchen magic.

Here's the basic formula:

Wash, then roughly chop:

• An onion (with the skin)

• At least 5 cloves of garlic (you can use the outer papers too)

• Whatever hot peppers suit your fancy (leave the seeds intact)

• A roughly 1 inch knob of ginger

• Same amount of fresh turmeric

• Fresh horseradish if you can find it (it’s potent and so effective so I wouldn’t leave it out if you can help it!)

Pack it all into a a large glass jar (not plastic! It will leach toxins into your brew over time!). I use a glass water pitcher because I like to make enough to last a while and to share, but you could even use a quart-size mason jar.

Add to the jar:

• Juice and peels from an orange and a lemon

• A few cinnamon sticks

• A few cloves

• Whatever fresh herbs you have on hand

Cover the ingredients with raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar with the mother. Date the jar so you know when you started the infusion. Put a clean cloth over the open jar and leave in a cool, dark place for six weeks.

After six weeks, strain the liquid and store it in a clean jar (with the lid on this time) at room temperature. 

Are you going to try this recipe?

Comment below to be entered in a drawing to win a bottle from this batch!