Written by: Andrea Scarborough, Naturally Knotty Farms

I first discovered a recipe for fire cider years ago. It didn’t sound like something I wanted to try immediately, but when I read about the immune-boosting benefits I decided to be brave and give it a try. Years later, it’s a staple at our house around cold and flu time.

Fire cider is a traditional recipe that contains garlic, onion, ginger, cayenne, vinegar, and raw honey. The original recipe calls for horseradish, but for the sake of the kids I typically substitute echinacea root.

Fire Cider

Fire cider harnesses the beneficial properties of onion, garlic, ginger, and herbs, plus vinegar and raw honey for a nourishing drink with a little kick.

How Does Fire Cider Taste?

Judging by the ingredients in the recipe, you might not expect it to taste very good. I didn’t either and I was quite pleasantly surprised by the taste. I’ve even tried it on salads as a dressing and it has a mild peppery and sweet vinaigrette flavor.

In the winter months, I sometimes take a teaspoon or so of this a day or use it on salads. If illness hits, I’ll take that dose every few hours or add a tablespoon to hot water or herbal tea a few times a day until I feel better.

For the kids, I reduce the cayenne or leave it out and they don’t mind the taste too much since the honey helps balance out the vinegar taste.

If you try fire cider and like it, I highly recommend Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs book as the reason I first discovered this remedy.

Spicy Fire Cider Recipe

An old herbal remedy that uses the germ-fighting properties of onion, garlic, ginger, and herbs. plus vinegar and raw honey for an immune boosting and nourishing drink with a little kick. 

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion (peeled and roughly chopped)
• 1 bulb garlic (peeled and roughly chopped)
• 3 inch piece of fresh ginger (grated)
• 1 TBSP dried echinacea root (optional)
• 1 orange (sliced, optional)
• 1 jalapeño (sliced, optional)
• apple cider vinegar (organic, with “the mother”)
• raw organic honey
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

• Place onion, garlic, ginger, and echinacea root, orange, and jalapeño if using in a quart size mason jar. Make sure garlic is at the bottom and completely submerged.
• Add enough apple cider vinegar to cover the ingredients. Use a fermentation weight to make sure all ingredients are below the liquid level.
• Cap tightly and leave in the jar for 2-3 weeks, preferably in a sunny or slightly warm place.
• After 2-3 weeks, strain and discard the herbs.
• After straining, measure the apple cider vinegar left and mix it with an equal amount of raw honey and add the cayenne pepper.
• Store in the refrigerator and take 1 teaspoon as needed daily or when illness strikes. I’ve taken as much as 1 teaspoon an hour during illness until I felt better.

Notes

Don’t worry about the garlic turning green — it’s a normal reaction for garlic immersed in an acid. 

Do you make your own Natural Immune Support? Tell us about it in the comments.

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