Farmwife Fire Cider!

Tonight, I set up four quarts of fire cider to mature / infuse for a month.

Fire cider is a miraculous tonic / tincture that has been a folk medicine standard for hundreds of years. In the early 1980s, Rosemary Gladstar provided her students at the California School of Herbal Studies with a recipe for the magical elixir later published in her book, Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health), and in the decades since, the tonic has been made and sold by people across the country.

Everyone has their own variation, and mine follows, but the basic ingredients always include fresh horseradish, white onions, garlic, fresh ginger, cayenne, organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar and raw honey.

Search any of these items for their independent health benefits. Together, they create a tonic lauded to be the magic boost your immune system needs to fight winter colds and viruses, sinus troubles, digestion issues, circulatory sluggishness, and more.

Farmwife’s Fire Cider

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fresh grated organic horseradish
• 1/2 cup diced organic white onion
• 1/4 cup fresh grated organic ginger
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped / minced organic garlic
• 1 good sized organic lemon
• 1/4 cup fresh grated turmeric (or 1 tbsp. powdered)
• 1/4 tsp. + ground cayenne pepper
• 2 1/2 cups + organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup + organic raw honey (local, if possible)

Directions:

1. Wash and peel all fresh ingredients (except lemon).
2. Zest lemon into a clean quart jar. Cut it open and squeeze the juice into the jar as well.
3. Grate horseradish, ginger, and turmeric (if using fresh) and add to the jar. Dice the onion and garlic and add that in as well.
4. Add powdered spices and cover all with apple cider vinegar. Apply the lid to the jar, shake it up well, and taste with a spoon. Add more cayenne if you want it hotter.
5. Put a piece of parchment or wax paper in between the lid and the jar so that the vinegar doesn’t touch the metal. Set the jar in a cool dark place for a month. Shake it every time you remember.
6. After four weeks or so, strain the solids out and mix in honey to taste.

You can do this as a shot, mix it with water as a “tea”, mix it with juice for the kids (apple works really well), use it to make a vinaigrette for your salad, or anything else you can imagine!

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