With winter fast approaching, many of us begin to think of ways to keep ourselves healthy and prepare our immune systems for the craziness of the holidays and cold weather. From my research (and experience with herbalism), I have found fire cider to be a perfect addition to my wintertime well-being routine.

For those of you that aren’t familiar, fire cider is an apple cider vinegar infused with a variety of immune boosting and warming herbs, spices, and citrus. These ingredients work together to create a tangy shot or delicious vinegar replacement for many recipes.

This winter, I plan to use it as a way to help fight off a cold or sinus infection before it happens. To do this, I’ll simply take a 1 oz shot (2 tablespoons) of the cider once a day when I feel I am starting to come down with something. It’s also great to take in smaller doses as a preventative!

Fire Cider Recipe

I based my recipe off of Mountain Rose Herb’s basic fire cider recipe, but changed the ingredients a bit by making a few additions.

While this recipe takes 1 month to infuse, it can be enjoyed for 2-3 years due to its high acidity. Simple bottle it up and place it in a dark place once completed.

If you’re feeling adventurous, feel free to use the leftover pulp in recipes! I have seen people use it in stir fry’s online.

This recipe yields 1 gallon of fire cider

Ingredients

• 3.5 cups of fresh grated horseradish*
• 2 cups of fresh grated ginger (or finely chopped)
• 1/4 cup of fresh grated turmeric (or finely chopped). Okay to use powder, see linked recipe.
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 15 cloves of garlic, crushed or chopped
• 3 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 2 limes, cut into 8 slices
• 1 large orange, cut into 8 slices
• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 7 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 8 sprigs of fresh oregano
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder
• apple cider vinegar
• local honey

*I may have potentially overdone it on the horseradish. Time will tell and I’ll update this recipe accordingly.

Process

1. Prepare all herbs, spices, and fruits accordingly and place into a 1 gallon glass jar. I recommend a wide mouth container if you have it. Removing everything from the 1 gallon jug I used is going to be quite a situation.
2. Pour apple cider vinegar over the ingredients until they are fully covered and nothing is breaking the surface of the liquid,
3. Cover with a lid (ideally plastic, but if metal, cover with parchment paper to keep liquid from touching). Allow to sit in a dark location, I have mine in our basement!
4. After 1 month, use a strainer and cheesecloth to strain all of the ingredients out of the mixture so that you are left with the vinegar only. Make sure to get as much out of the leftover pulp as possible!
5. Add honey until well incorporated and has the desired sweetness.
6. Enjoy! Know that it will mellow with time, so if it is too spicy to begin with, allow it to sit for a bit.

Benefits of the ingredients

As always, be mindful of any potential interactions between these ingredients and any medications you are taking. Speak to your doctor first!

• horseradish – this is warming to the body, is anti-bacterial (1), and assists in clearing out the sinuses and upper respiratory tract (1).
• ginger – is known to treat nausea, improves digestion, and is anti-bacterial (2)
• turmeric – we all know turmeric by know, especially for it’s amazing anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties (3)
• onion – these are high in antioxidants and have anti-bacterial properties (4)
• garlic – known to boost the immune system, benefit memory function, and can help reduce blood pressure. (5)
• jalapeno pepper – may be a natural pain reliever, helps to fight infections, may prevent stomach ulcers (6)
• lime – high in vitamin C, increase iron absorption, assist in collagen production, and may help to prevent kidney stones. (7)
• orange – high in vitamin C, increase iron absorption, assist in collagen production, assist in immune health (8)
• rosemary – antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, may assist in mood and memory, may protect vision and eye health (9)
• thyme – may help to soothe coughs and sore throat, antibacterial (10)
• oregano – antibacterial, may be anti-inflammatory, may have anti-cancer properties (11)
• cayenne pepper – may be a natural pain reliever, helps to fight infections, may prevent stomach ulcers (12)
• apple cider vinegar – anti-bacterial, can help manage blood-sugar levels, can assist in increasing stomach acidity (13)
• local honey – antibacterial, soothes sore throats and coughs, assists in seasonal allergies (14)

Thank you for reading and let me know if you’re planning to make any fire cider this season!

If you liked this post, please check out some of the other recipes that Steph and I have posted and subscribe to email updates below so that you don’t miss our new posts.

-Hailey