Ladies and Gents, in the spirit of prevention, it is my duty to inform you that flu season is upon us and I encourage everyone to go get a flu shot. If prevention isn’t your thing, well then I’d be remiss to ask how you’ve found yourself a hobby like gardening? Homesteading and self-sufficiency is all about being prepared and doing what’s in your power to ensure a better tomorrow (the definition of prevention in my book).
On the flip side of that same coin, while I have much respect for the evidence and advancements of the scientific and medical communities, I will also emphasize that we shouldn’t solely rely on them to “make us better.” There is nothing wrong or contradictory to also use the wonders of nature, our original doctor, to boost health and immunity. That’s called complementary.
In that vein, I have been hearing about fire cider for over a year now but for whatever reason haven’t managed to find the time to actually make some <Translation: totally unmotivated and barely getting myself to accomplish the minimum each day due to the pandemic>. I had been doing The Booch for a while if you recall because that’s great for boosting gut health. But I’ve taken a break from that and figured there’s no better time to jump on some fire cider and #MIM (make it myself).
I did some searching for different recipes and found that most are built off the same baseline ingredients and the overall process seems to be pretty similar as well. The main difference between recipes seems to be the variety and extensiveness of ingredients. Basically, how much flair do you want to add?
The majority of recipes I reviewed all used the following ingredients.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – a source of Vitamin C, amino acids, and more
- Citrus fruit (lemon and/or orange) – source of Vitamin C
- Garlic – a wonder food that boosts immunity, plus many other benefits
- Ginger Root – great for soothing the stomach
- Honey (local) – a natural allergy fighter
- Horseradish – effective against respiratory issues
- Hot Peppers – boost metabolism and sinus relief
- Onion – boosts heart health and anti-inflammatory
- Turmeric – anti-inflammatory
So here’s what I did:
- Chopped an orange, lemon, onion, and four habanero peppers. Peeled a whole head of garlic. Shredded a large piece of horseradish and ginger root. Note: If you’ve never shredded horseradish, it will open your nasal passages like never before!
- I divided the ingredients between two quart-sized mason jars and then sprinkled 1 tablespoon of turmeric on top of each.
- Then poured enough apple cider vinegar in each jar to cover all ingredients.
- I covered the top with a piece of parchment paper and screwed the band on then shook it gently.
- I let it sit on the bottom shelf in my pantry for a month and tried to shake it up a little each day if I remembered. Realistically, it was more like 3 times each week.
- After one month, I strained out as much liquid as I could and then poured into a clean quart jar.
- I added about ¼ c of honey and stirred. You can add however much ‘til it meets your taste preferences.
- Then store in fridge.
I am taking a tablespoon each morning to prevent any illness. Some people think it will also help shorten any bouts of cold and flu that you may experience. If you want to check out a couple, these all tap into nature’s amazing immune-boosting properties.
- Classic Mountain Rose Herbs Fire Cider Recipe
- Fire Cider Health Tonic from Foodie with Family
- Melissa K. Norris Traditional Fire Cider Recipe
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