Want a simple, wholesome and economical way to give your immune system a boost through the long and dreary days of winter? Let’s make Fire Cider!
What the heck is it?
Fire cider is apple cider vinegar (organic and raw are a must) that is steeped with basically any and all fruits, veggies, herbs and the like that are rich in vitamins and possess antibacterial, anti microbial, antioxidant and/or anti inflammatory properties. These ingredients work together harmoniously to improve your blood flow, respiratory function, heart health and digestion.
It’s one of those magical things that civilizations have been making and using for centuries but catches all sorts of crap on the internet because Big Pharma hasn’t found a good way to monetize it yet.
It’s delicious, it’s super easy to make and it’ll help ya defend against all those gross little guys that want to crawl into your nose and ruin your day.
How the heck do I make it?
It truly couldn’t be simpler. You chop up all the listed ingredients (and feel free to add your own!) The key is chopping things to create as much surface area for the ACV (apple cider vinegar) to penetrate and absorb as possible. Add everything to a cleaned and sterilized vessel (we use a half gallon mason jar at home and a 5 gallon food-safe bucket for our larger “for sale” batches), pour over enough organic raw ACV to cover and steep for about a month. Once fully steeped, strain out the solids, add as much RAW, ORGANIC, LOCAL honey as you like, to taste and bottle up the remaining liquid gold health elixir.
What the heck do I do with it?
You can take one tablespoon of fire cider as an immunity boosting supplement 1-3 times per week. You can also take it more frequently (1-3 times per day) at the first sign of illness to ward it off or decrease total time spent ill. Take it straight up, or add to juice, water, or tea! You can also use fire cider as the base of a truly delicious and healthful vinaigrette or add as a finishing touch to soups and stews for a nice acidic component. Fire cider also makes a wonderful holiday gift or addition to a care package for a sick friend or relative.
How the heck do I store it?
Fire cider is shelf stable for about a year if stored properly in a cool, dark place but will last even longer if stored in the refrigerator. We do not recommend freezing and it will lose potency.
Can I give it to my kids?
Definitely. We’ve found with our children that it’s best to wean them onto it by mixing with a little tea or high quality juice. Eventually they’ll learn to tolerate it straight up. One note of caution- fire cider is extremely acidic (hopefully that’s obvious) and should not be taken on an empty stomach by a child or an adult.
Alright jeeez gimme the recipe already:
Can do! This is our current recipe that was originally adapted from <mamaeatsplants> and then modified to use what we grow and typically have on hand at home. You can feel free to swap things out or add things in but we highly recommend using the highest quality ingredients that you can get your hands on for the most potent and effective final product.
RCH Fire Cider
Ingredients
- -1 large or 2 smaller oranges sliced thin
- -1-2 lemon sliced thin
- -2 onions red preferred, any kind will do, chopped
- -Big knob of ginger chopped (peel if you like, not necessary)
- -1-2 thumbs of turmeric root chopped (peel if you like, not necessary)
- -One whole head of garlic cloves separated and smashed
- -Big spoonful of black peppersons
- -Big pinch of good quality salt
- -Big pinch of cayenne powder or small fresh chiles slices
- -Bouquet of fresh herbs we typically use rosemary, sage and oregano
- – large dab of fresh horseradish optional
- -Raw apple cider vinegar to cover everything and fill jar
- -Honey to taste after steeping
Instructions
- Cut up all of the produce into small pieces and all ingredients (besides honey) to a cleaned and sterilized half gallon mason jar (or divide among smaller jars if necessary). Cover with ACV and allow to steep in a cool dark place for about a month. Strain out the solids and add enough *HIGH QUALITY* honey to make the flavors (spicy salty sour sweet) balanced.
Notes
Happy Eating!
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