Fire Cider is a classic, immune-boosting herbal remedy – often taken on the onset of a cold, or during cold/flu season, you can drink it as a daily tonic. It feels good to start the day with a shot of fire cider.
The moment you drink it, you feel every cell in your body WAKE up! ⚡️
In herbal terms, Fire Cider is an oxymel, which is an herbal infused vinegar combined with honey. Vinegar draws out the vitamins, minerals, the flavors and healthy constituents from the botanicals. Traditionally its made with ingredients like garlic, onion, horseradish, cayenne… but you can make different blends, focusing on the herbs that you like, or want to benefit from. I even make fire ciders for skincare (just take out the fire 🙂
Rosemary Gladstar (considered the godmother of western herbalism) created a book with a collection of fire cider recipes that you can get inspired by.
This version here – is fruity, sweet, tart, spicy – and features vitamin C-rich herbs to help boost your immunity during the Fall/Winter season. And it’s delicious!
How to use your Fire Cider
You can take this vinegar preparation by the spoonful, or use it in your drinks and food – and make it part of your daily eating. For example,
- Bone Broth: Adding vinegar when making bone broths helps to extract out the minerals. You can add a splash of this to your broth, and get the added flavors and healthful benefits.
- Herbal Salad Dressing: You can make a simple vinaigrette, and get SO much flavor!
- Herbal Lemon Water: Lots of people like to drink warm lemon water in the mornings, with a splash of vinegar – but you could just add a spoonful of this into a mug of water and get a really quick herbal boost.
- Healthy Marinade: Combine with salt, pepper, a bit of oil and make a really simple marinade for meat and veg that will pack a lot of flavor with little effort.
The ingredients
This Fire Cider is the most magical pink color, which comes from the Vitamin-C trio: hibiscus, hawthorn berries and rose hips.
These bright red berries and calyces are high in antioxidants that protect the body. But they’re also considered cardio tonics, and herbalist use these herbs to support the heart and circulatory system. They have a moving quality – moving blood, mucus, congestion and stagnation in the body.
Especially in these times, where the natural rhythms of daily life were disrupted, creating movement and flow in the body is so good.
Lemon: Bright flavor, bitter quality good for digestion, lots of vitamin-C
Ginger: Boosts your immunity with anti-viral properties, boosts circulation
Jalapeno: Optional. I love a spicy kick, it wakes up your system, boosts circulation and is traditionally used on the onset of a cold.
Honey: Honey has healthful benefits. It also added to cut the sourness of the apple cider vinegar. But, because of the natural fruity sweetness, you might find that you enjoy the flavor, without the honey. Add it to taste.
Preparing your Fire Cider
You can use fresh or dry ingredients, or a combination. If you purchase dried berries and hibiscus, it’s a good idea to blitz it for a quick second to break it down for easier extraction.
Any fresh ingredients, the lemons, ginger and jalapeno, you can simply roughly chop them up.
TIP: Becuase of the vinegar, it’s important to protect the metal lid from corrosion. You can use a piece of wax paper under the lid to separate it from the vinegar, but you still need to check on it every so often, and change it out if needed.
I recently bought these food-safe plastic lids and I love it because I don’t have to worry about it anymore!
Vitamin-C Fire Cider
Decongesting, Immune-Boosting Daily Tonic
- 2 tbsp rosehips
- 2 tbsp hawthorn berries
- 2 tbsp hibiscus
- 1 lemon
- 1 piece jalapeno, to taste (I add a 1 inch piece)
- 4 inch piece of ginger
- 1-2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1-4 tbsp honey, to taste
- Clean out a glass mason jar, cut a piece of wax paper if it has a metal lid
- In a blender, crush up the dried berries and hibiscus
- Slice up the ginger, lemon, and jalapeno.
- Add the ingredient to the jar, and pour in the vinegar to fully cover.
- Let it infuse for 4 weeks, shaking daily when you remebmer.
- Strain, and add your honey to taste. Keep it in the fridge, it will last up to 1 year.
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