Fire Cider
The Fight for Fire Cider:
Fire Cider is a folk herbal remedy that was created by Rosemary Gladstar in her teaching kitchens at the California Herbal Medicine School in the 1970s. This sweet, sour, and spicy concoction has been made and personalized consistently by herbalists since its inception. In 2019, several herbalists, including Rosemary herself, won a lawsuit against a company that attempted to trademark the name Fire Cider to keep for their use alone. Fire Cider is now legally a term that belongs to the commons. The Free Fire Cider team is now working on collecting other freely shared herbal remedy terms to add to a list of herbal commons to prevent other companies from stealing from our common and traditional herbal knowledge.
What is Fire Cider?
Fire cider is a blend of spicy and pungent herbs/foods infused in apple cider vinegar with honey added in. It is a tasty medicinal food that has been used to fend off the Winter chill and the increase in illness that comes with spending more time indoors. The ingredients are simple, easy to find herbs and foods and can be adjusted for your taste preferences. Some work with fresh plants, some with dried, and others with powdered herbs or a combination of all of the above. The mainstay ingredients are garlic, onions, horseradish, cayenne, apple cider vinegar, and honey.
How do I Work with Fire Cider?
The most common way to take fire cider is by the shot glass exactly as you would throw back other warming beverages. Some will add more honey and turn it into a sipping beverage. Some cook with fire cider or make salad dressings from this vinegar based remedy. The key is to use it consistently - just as with any herbal medicine. The recommended daily dose is 1-2 Tbsp and when feeling under the weather increasing to a couple of teaspoons hourly as needed. This is very similar to the dosing strategy for elderberry syrup, and having both on hand helps a household immensely during the dark months.
Fire Cider Recipe:
Please note, there are no exact measurements listed below, as you create your Fire Cider, experiment with adding additional ingredients, removing some if needed, and adjusting the ratios. The point is to make a version that you will take and enjoy. For inspiration, you can turn to Rosemary’s book Fire Cider! Which contains 101 different fire cider recipes!
Dr. Currey’s Throw it Together Fire Cider:
Ingredients:
1 medium onion (yellow or brown) - rough chop
10 cloves of garlic - smashed
½ cup Ginger root - chopped or grated
¼ cup Horseradish root - chopped or grated
2 Tbsp Rosemary leaves - dry
1 Tbsp Thyme leaves - dry
1 Tbsp powdered Turmeric root
1 organic lemon - sliced
Dash of Cayenne
Apple Cider Vinegar (raw and organic)
Honey - this will be added later after straining out the other ingredients
1 Quart jar with a plastic lid or wax paper to act as a barrier between the vinegar and your metal lid - this prevents corrosion of your lid.
Other ingredients to consider: Jalapeno peppers, cinnamon, cloves, echinacea, elderberries
Directions:
Prepare all of your ingredients and add them one at a time to your jar. Press things down as you go.
Once all your ingredients are snugly in your jar, pour apple cider vinegar in to fully cover everything.
Put your lid on either a plastic lid or be sure to use wax paper between your jar contents and your lid.
Label your jar - you don’t want to mistake it for something else and get an unexpected spicy surprise!
Allow the jar to sit for 3-4 week shaking once a day or so.
Strain out and compost all the solid materials from your jar.
Pour liquid into a new clean jar and add honey to taste.
You can store fire cider on the counter for 2-3 months or in the refrigerator for up to a year.
Enjoy your stimulating and warming herbal remedy!
Be sure to keep a record of your recipe and how it changes over time. You may just end up with 101 different incarnations. If you have problems with any of the ingredients, simply leave those out and play with substitutions. Even if you cannot eat onions or garlic, you can still create a spicy vinegar that will ease you through the cold of winter. If not, well, there is always Elderberry Syrup to turn to.
I hope you give Fire Cider a try, and please do share your experiences with making your own herbal remedies. It’s always fun to share. If you are looking for a budding community of herbalists sharing their creations and learning more from each other, please consider joining me at Mountain Mel Mutterspaugh’s new facebook group for her podcast The Herbalist’s Path where she is on a mission to have an herbalist in every home, again.
To our health!