Fire Cider

Fire cider is one of my favorite herbal medicines to make. Although the term “fire cider” was coined by the amazing Rosemary Gladstar in the late 70’s or early 80’s, this type of medicine has been around for thousands of years. Vinegar can be traced back to at least 5000 B.C.E. and has been documented as being used for medicinal purposes by the Babylonians. That’s a whole lot of historical evidence of its efficacy. Not to mention the countless studies that have been done on vinegar and herbal infused vinegar. All that being said, it has worked wonders for my husband and me over and over again, so I say, “bring on the fire cider”!

Table of Contents

• What is Fire Cider
• Standard Ingredients
• Additional Ingredients
• Overview of Making Fire Cider
• Prepping Ingredients
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• How to Use Fire Cider
• Cooking With Fire Cider
• The Waldo Witch’s Fire Cider Recipe

What is Fire Cider?

You might be asking what fire cider is and what it does. Fire cider is sort of a blanket term for herbal infused vinegar (typically apple cider vinegar) that is meant to be taken internally. Although there are as many recipes for fire cider as there are herbalists and herbal enthusiasts, the fairly standard, base recipe is ACV (apple cider vinegar), raw onion, raw garlic, hot peppers, ginger, and honey.

As for what it does, my answer to you is, “what doesn’t fire cider do”?? Ok, that’s probably a bit of an exaggeration. I would never rinse my eye out with fire cider if I had pink eye or snort fire cider through a neti pot. There are probably a bunch more things that I wouldn’t use fire cider for, but there certainly are plenty of reasons for always having it on-hand.  Whenever I feel like I have a tickle in my throat or maybe I’m coming down with something, I immediately reach for the fire cider. I typically take fire cider with me when I have to travel. If I know things are going to be extra special stressful for awhile (like the holidays), I take fire cider daily for prevention. Fire cider will help prevent illnesses such as colds, flus, strep throat, and other common ailments. It is antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, boosts your immune system, and so much more. There are even some studies that have shown that ACV can aid in weight loss and The American Diabetes Association has stated that “vinegar can significantly improve postprandial insulin sensitivity in insulin-resistant subjects” (Diabetes Care, January 2004). ACV has vitamins B & C, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, and pectin. Infusing herbs into it makes it an even more potent medicine!

There is no specific recipe for fire cider. Even for me, it’s slightly different every time I make it. I have my basic guidelines for the recipe, but it’s also a bit intuitive. If there is an herb growing in my garden when I make it that seems like a fun or helpful addition, in it goes. My base recipe tends to be pretty much the same every time, although the quantities definitely change. I’m more of a “some of this, some of that” kind of herbalist.

Following is a list of basic ingredients that I always put in my fire cider and the reasons they are included. After that, I have some ingredients that also make great additions. My recipe is below that and there are quantities listed, but feel free to mix it up and tweak it as you see fit.

My Standard Ingredients

Apple Cider Vinegar – almost every recipe I have ever seen for fire cider uses apple cider vinegar as the base. This is the “cider” part of “fire cider”.  I did see one recipe once that used balsamic vinegar, but I will stick with ACV.  As stated above, ACV is full of goodness in the form of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and acetic acid. Traditionally, it has been used for stomach problems, sore throat, leg cramps, exhaustion, fungal infections, weight loss, as a hair rinse, and has even been used to treat fevers. When making fire cider, make sure to use organic, raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar. Raw ACV still has “the mother” which is a cloudy, sort of gelatinous substance that is made up of prebiotics, proteins, enzymes, minerals, polyphenols, vitamins, and other compounds produced by friendly bacteria. It’s good stuff and will make your fire cider even more beneficial.

Honey – as with ACV, it’s best to use organic, raw, unfiltered honey. All honey is good, but raw is better. Also, try to use honey that is local to your area. Aside from making your fire cider more palatable (I personally don’t love the taste of fire cider)(some people absolutely love it)(I’m not one of those)honey contains a lot of good healing stuff all on its own. I have used honey to treat severe burns and wounds, it helps with sore throats, has antioxidants, is anti-inflammatory, and can help with some gastrointestinal issues.

Garlic – use raw, organic garlic when possible. Garlic is a powerful antimicrobial herb and is effective against harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungal infections. It has this effect throughout the whole body including the lungs which makes it great for treating respiratory ailments.

Onion – raw onions have similar healing properties to garlic and contain antioxidants and are anti-inflammatory.

Hot Peppers – I typically use raw cayenne peppers from my garden, but you can certainly use dried peppers. The hotness level depends on you and your preferences. This is the “fire” part of “fire cider”.  Cayenne peppers are a strong circulatory stimulant. They get your blood and lymph fluid moving. They are also a great vital force stimulant and are powerfully anti-inflammatory.

Ginger – I typically use raw, organic ginger, but dried will work as well. You can usually find raw ginger in the produce department of most grocery stores. Ginger is amazing for your digestive system and has been used to treat all kinds of nausea. It is a warming diaphoretic herb which means it helps promote an effective fever response to infection and then helps disperse that heat. It also has relaxing qualities that will help loosen tight muscles and can help relieve cramping.

Turmeric – as with ginger, I like to use fresh turmeric. You can often find it packaged with ginger in the produce section of the grocery store. Turmeric is well known for its anti-inflammatory actions and is particularly effective for inflammatory issues in the digestive system. It is great at stimulating the liver.  It is also antimicrobial.

Lemon – I slice a whole, organic lemon and put the slices in my fire cider. They are high in fiber and vitamin C, and the citric acid may help dissolve kidney stones. Lemons also help the body absorb iron.

Other Ingredients

The above listed ingredients are pretty easy to find at the grocery store. Many of the following ingredients can also be found at the grocery store, or you can purchase them from my online shop.

Elderberries – I put this in the “Other Ingredients” list, but I actually always include them in my fire cider. Well-known for their immune-boosting abilities, elderberries are incredibly effective for treating colds and flus. They are packed with antioxidants and vitamins and are anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic.

Thyme – extremely antimicrobial, thyme can help you combat most of the things that ail you. As I’m typing this, I’m wondering why I don’t just always include thyme in my fire cider. Thyme is one of those “must-haves” for cold and flu season. I typically use thyme as a steam for respiratory infections, but there are a million reasons to add it to fire cider as well.  Thyme can kill viruses and calm your nervous system at the same time.

Rosemary – not just a nod to Rosemary Gladstar, the coiner of the term “fire cider”, rosemary the herb is also an excellent cold and flu herb. It stimulates circulation and protects the heart. It’s excellent for digestion and helps protect the liver. It is also antimicrobial and an expectorant to help coughs be more productive.

There are tons of other ingredients people use in fire cider. You will often see horseradish as well, but I have never tried that. Pine needles, oregano, sage, hawthorn berries, echinacea, and black peppercorns are other ingredients that I have often seen in fire cider recipes. If there is an herb or other ingredient that you are super in love with, totally throw that into the mix! They sky is the limit when it comes to fire cider and there are no wrong answers here.

Overview of Making Fire Cider

So, you may be asking how to actually make the fire cider. That’s an excellent question! It’s actually super easy. For the most part, you just throw all the ingredients in a jar and cover it by 2-3” with apple cider vinegar. Put a lid on it and shake it every day or so for about 4-6 weeks. Filter all the stuff out and the remaining liquid is your fire cider.

A Few Things to Note…

Fresh ginger and turmeric – I don’t necessarily peel them, but I definitely get the papery bits off and make sure there is no dirt or mold. I sort of half-ass peel them and then coarsely chop them up.

Garlic and onion – Peel and coarsely chop these up before they go in.

Lemons – Make sure to wash them well especially if they are not organic. If you want to be really on the ball, drop the whole lemon in boiling water for a minute or two to get the waxy coating off. You can also place them in a colander and pour boiling water over them and then scrub under cool water. I slice the whole lemon up into pretty thin slices, but some people prefer to zest them and just use the zest. I’m not really sure why. The whole lemon has so much goodness.

Honey – I personally can’t imagine fire cider without honey, but some people prefer not to use honey. Some people are weird.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Gather all the ingredients you plan on using and get a jar that will be plenty big enough to hold everything. I would strongly recommend a glass jar. No reason to add plastic to your health tonic.
2. Peel, chop, slice, and otherwise prepare all your ingredients and add them to the jar. Add some honey. This is very much a personal preference thing. I would start small. You can always add more honey later. In fact, many people don’t add the honey until after the vinegar has been infused and the marc (all your other ingredients) has been filtered out.
3. Pour in the apple cider vinegar until it has covered all of the ingredients by at least 2-3 inches.
4. Put the lid on the jar tightly. Vinegar is very acidic and will corrode metal. If the lid for your jar is metal, you can put a double layer of wax paper over the top of the jar and then put the lid on.
5. Label your jar. This is a very important step!! I use blue painter’s tape because it stays on the jar well but peels off without leaving any sticky residue. Put exactly what you put in the fire cider and the date on the label.
6. For the next 4-6 weeks, shake your jar every day or so and tell it how much you love it. Infusing your fire cider with love will ensure its efficacy. This is a scientifically proven fact. Ok, probably not really, but I think it is an important step in the process.
7. After 4-6 weeks, it is finally time to filter out the marc (herbs and such). Using a fine mesh sieve, strain your fire cider. I like to strain into a large pitcher or something with a spout so I can then pour the fire cider into bottles. Some people like to use the marc in stir fry’s, soups, or stews. I have never actually tried this as I don’t really like the taste of fire cider. I typically just compost the marc.
8. Bottle your fire cider in a glass jar and label. It will keep for at least 6 months although I have actually kept mine longer and it was just fine.

How to Use Fire Cider

In my house, we typically take 2 tablespoons of fire cider when we feel like we might be coming down with something. If I am feeling particularly stressed or run down, I usually take a couple tablespoons for prevention. It can be taken every day for general health and prevention.

Fire cider can also be used to treat fungal infections on the skin. For things like toenail fungus or athlete’s foot, you can pour about ¼ cup of fire cider into a foot bath with warm water. Soak for a good 20 minutes a few times a day until the issue has been resolved. Please use common sense, however. If the issue continues to get worse or doesn’t clear up in a couple of days, you may need to see a doctor.  If the fungal infection is on another part of the body like the back or arms, you can always soak a towel in fire cider and use it as a compress.

Cooking with Fire Cider

As Hippocrates said, “let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food”.  Cooking with fire cider is a great way to take your medicine. You can substitute fire cider in any (savory not sweet) recipe that calls for vinegar. You can also mix it with oil for a delightful and spicy vinaigrette. It works well as a marinade or mixed with sour cream or mayonnaise for a fun dip. You can even use it in cocktails and mocktails like Bloody Mary’s or spicy margaritas. Really the possibilities are endless!

So go forth and make fire cider! Make a big batch and share with friends and family. It makes a great gift!