An easy, do-it-yourself herbal remedy to stay healthy in the winter.
The story of Fire Cider is fascinating. It was developed by famous herbalist Rosemary Gladstar around 1980. She was looking to design a non-alcoholic tonic. So with her students at the time, they chopped onions, garlic, ginger, and horseradish and covered them in apple cider vinegar and honey. They dubbed the concoction Fire Cider.
The plants have enough spirit to transform our limited vision. - Rosemary Gladstar
Since its inception, Fire Cider has traveled far and wide. It has become a staple. A household name. A right of passage for every family herbalist to make their first batch of Fire Cider.
There are countless ways to make Fire Cider too. Rosemary's first recipe has been added to, changed, adapted, expanded. A handful of ingredients are standard but the variations after that are up to each individual herbalist. Learning other's recipes and trying new ones are part of the fun of participating in this tradition.
Fire Cider has its day in court
You read that right, Fire Cider ended up in court. After decades of herbalists making Fire Cider in their home and for sale in their communities, a company trademarked the name Fire Cider in 2012. And no, it wasn't Rosemary Gladstar. The company had cease and desist letters sent to well-known herbalists that had been making and selling their versions of Fire Cider for many, many years. Then the herbalists were sued! For a lot of money. The whole process went on for several years and it took several days in court but the final determination was in favor of "Tradition over Trademark" - fire cider was deemed a generic term. Widely accepted and open for all to use and none to trademark. You can read more about this story HERE.
Why should I make Fire Cider?
Having a bottle of Fire Cider in your cabinet makes sense for many reasons. Some are:
The ingredients in this herbal remedy make it useful as a tonic by using a bit every day to avoid or prevent illness and as a medicine to take during an illness to quickly kick it.
Fire Cider is easy to make at home and the ingredients are pretty accessible.
Making your own preventative remedies is quite satisfying and saves on time and money.
Knowing what's in your medicine is invaluable. Knowing the ingredients in your medicine don't have side effects is priceless.
How to make Fire Cider
The recipes are endless, as I mentioned before. So you can change and adapt it as you see fit or to fit your particular needs.
The basic recipe is putting cut onions, garlic, horseradish, and ginger in a mason jar. Cover with apple cider vinegar and raw honey. Cover and let sit for 4-6 weeks. Strain, bottle, and keep somewhere dark and cool. Make sure you always use raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar with the mother. I usually add my raw honey after I've strained the ACV, just personal preference. After it is bottled, I tend to keep mine in the fridge, most keep theirs in the cabinet. It should last about 12-18 months.
The fire cider can be ready in as little as 4 weeks. You don't want to let it sit for more than 6 weeks though as the cell walls of the vegetables start to break down and you'll have a jar of mush. As it is already fall, 4 weeks is a good amount of time to let the vinegar be infused with the constituents from the herbs. This will give you a finished product next month, in time to start getting ready for winter and the sicknesses that inevitably make the rounds.
Your body has the ability to completely heal itself of any disease...all it needs is your assistance. - Dr. Richard Schulze
What the ingredients do for you
First off, the king of this formula is the garlic. Dr. John R. Christopher called garlic man's best friend in a toxic world. There's not much this herb can't do. It is useful against contagious diseases, yeast, parasites, bacteria, viruses, fevers, spasms - just to name a few! You definitely want garlic in your recipe and plenty of it.
Next is onion. Onions are also a must have. They are versatile in healing. And, like garlic, do so much. Onion helps thin mucus and loosen phlegm. They are anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-septic and contain good amounts of quercetin.
Ginger is known to help strengthen the immune system. It also helps with nausea and vomiting and fever. Ginger also helps with inflammation and even pain.
Horseradish clears out sinuses quite effectively. In fact, just smelling horseradish can start to clear your head. It is helpful with breaking through mucus, infections, and is anti-bacterial.
Apple Cider Vinegar is a debated topic, even though it has been used for thousands of years. As a FootZonology practitioner, I advise against vinegars because of what they do internally. As a Master Herbalist, I appreciate the effectiveness of a good remedy that uses ACV. Personally, I consider Fire Cider to be strictly a winter medicine. I don't even make it every year. This year though, I felt really strongly to get it made right away. In the spirit of an herbal remedy, ACV is loaded with enzymes, works well as a menstruum (meaning it pulls the active ingredients from herbs and plants), is alkalizing, and breaks up mucus.
Raw honey is a powerhouse. One of the main reasons for it being in Fire Cider though, is to add sweetness to this spicy medicine. Raw honey contains over 5,000 enzymes but also plenty of minerals and amino acids. It is a common cough syrup and it strengthens the immune system.
Other Fire Cider variations
Some other possible Fire Cider components include:
Citrus. Lemons and oranges are popular, my current jars include grapefruit and limes because that's what was available in organic at the time.
Jalapeños
Cinnamon Sticks
Peppercorns
Turmeric
Cayenne
Star Anise
Elderberries
Echinacea
Rosemary
Thyme
Oregano
Cloves
These ingredients can be fresh or dried.
Now is the time
The temperatures are starting to cool off. The leaves are changing colors. Time to get a jar of your very own Fire Cider started. Letting it sit for 4 weeks is optimal so preparing it now will ensure you have a powerful, potent medicine ready to combat whatever might be coming this winter.
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