The name says it all: fire cider (or fire tonic) packs a punch, boosting your immune system and circulation. This fire cider recipe is full of natural ingredients and is an effective home remedy for colds.
Fire Cider Recipe: Base
We’ll share our tried and true fire cider recipe so you can make this natural remedy at home. Here’s a simple step-by-step for this immune-boosting beverage.
Materials:
- Sterilized mason jar or canning jar with a sealable lid — acetic acid (found in vinegar) can corrode metal, so try to avoid using a metal lid
- Strainer with cheesecloth
Yield: a four-gallon mason jar’s worth of fire cider benefits
Ingredients:
- 5 oz. horseradish
- 2.5 oz. ginger
- 1 large onion
- 10 cloves of garlic
- 2 jalapeños (you can swap this out for ground jalapeño, cayenne or chili powder)
- approx. 4 cups apple cider vinegar (use an unpasteurized vinegar with a 5% acidity level for best results)
- honey or a vegan honey alternative
Learn more about the many impressive Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar.
Fire Cider Recipe Optional Extras:
- 1 organic lemon or orange
- turmeric, rosemary, cayenne, or black pepper
Note: Organic ingredients are always better for the environment and your health — when possible, choose sustainable and ethical food sources.
How to Prepare Fire Tonic
Instructions:
- Wash the ingredients and peel the ginger, horseradish, onion and garlic.
- Grate the horseradish and ginger; chop the onion and garlic.
- Dice the jalapeños. Remember to wash your hands after chopping to avoid accidentally touching and burning your eyes.
- Prepare a clean mason jar with a sealable lid and combine all ingredients except the vinegar and honey inside.
- If you are using any additional ingredients in your fire cider recipe, add them to the jar as well.
- Fill the jar with apple cider vinegar until it reaches a few inches above the ingredients. Make sure all ingredients are covered to get full fire cider benefits.
- Give it a vigorous stir to mix all ingredients before closing the lid.
- Leave your fire tonic to steep in a dark place at room temperature for four weeks — the best place is in the kitchen. Shake the jar every few days.
- After four weeks, pour the fire cider through a sieve and transfer the remaining tonic into a bottle.
- Finally, add as much honey as you like.
Refrigerated, this health tonic will keep for several months — perfect to help you through the cold and flu season. If you don’t want to throw away the strained remains, you can still use them in soup or vegetable dishes.
Feel free to add other ingredients to the fire cider recipe to tweak the flavor. Keep trying until you find a version you like.
Natural Cold & Flu Remedy
Fire cider and its healthful ingredients are used in natural medicine to boost circulation and strengthen the immune system. Ginger, garlic and onion have been traditionally used together for their antibacterial effect, and apple cider vinegar and honey aid digestion. Plus, the pungency of horseradish may clear sinuses, which can help prevent sinus infections.
Fire cider’s benefits (and the accompanying recipe) were first noted by herbalist Rosemary Gladstar in the 1970s. However, the ingredients fire cider benefits from have been used for homemade cold remedies and in natural medicine for centuries.
How to Reap Fire Cider’s Benefits
To get the most out of your fire cider, drink one to two tablespoons every day during the cold and flu season to prevent and fight illness. If you feel a cold coming on, divide the same dosage into two to three smaller portions throughout the day instead of taking it all at once.
Tip: this fire cider recipe can be too spicy for children. Try diluting it with juice so that kids can enjoy fire cider benefits too, without the intense flavor.
This article has been translated from German by Karen Stankiewicz. You can find the original here: Fire Cider: Ein Rezept für das Erkältungsgetränk
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