If you are someone who suffers from frequent illnesses and infections, this is your lucky day. You’re about to discover a highly effective and very affordable natural remedy that is completely safe without any side effects. Some people even consider it tasty, incorporating it into their cooking or cocktail recipes.
Fire cider is a medicinal concoction that has been used for many generations to support healthy digestion, keep away seasonal infections, boost circulation and get rid of sinus congestion. It is essentially a collection of health-boosting herbs and vegetables, which are mixed together and soaked in vinegar over a period of time. The vinegar acts to draw out the active medicinal constituents of the plants.
The recipe for fire cider varies with the availability of the various ingredients and also the preferences of the maker. Some people choose to sweeten it with honey to take the edge off the heat and spice. Raw honey is a holistic medicinal food in itself!
Whichever blend you decide to use for your cider, the result will be antibacterial and antiviral, helping to provide potent antioxidants and warming spices to support robust immunity and digestion. It makes a great addition to your toxin-free natural medicine cabinet.
Here is a simple fire cider recipe you can try:
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Traditional Fire Cider
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| Prep Time: |
| 3 to 6weeks |
| Cook Time: |
| nocook |
| Total time: |
- 1/2cup peeled and diced horseradish
- 1/2cup peeled and diced garlic
- 1/2cup peeled and diced onion
- 1/4cup peeled and diced ginger
- 1/4cup peeled and diced turmeric
- 1pc habanero chili, split in half
- 1pc orange, quartered and thinly sliced crosswise
- 1/2pc lemon, quartered and thinly sliced crosswise
- 1/2cup chopped parsley
- 2tablespoons chopped rosemary
- 2tablespoons chopped thyme
- 1teaspoon black peppercorns
- 2 to 3cups raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar (at least 5% acidity)
- 1/4cup raw honey, or more to taste
- Place all of the vegetables, fruits, herbs, and spices in a clean 1-quart jar. Fill the jar with vinegar, covering all the ingredients and making sure there are no air bubbles. Cap the jar. If using a metal lid, place a piece of parchment or wax paper between the jar and the lid to prevent corrosion from the vinegar. Shake well.
- Let the jar sit for 3 to 6 weeks, shaking daily (or as often as you remember).
- Strain the vinegar into a clean jar. Add honey to taste. Refrigerate and use within a year.
These are other ingredients you can experiment with:
- Turmeric
- Citrus
- Parsley
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Cinnamon
- Cardamom
- Rose hips
- Mint
- Lemongrass
How does fire cider work?
Fire cider is effective due to the potency of its many naturally medicinal ingredients:
Garlic: Garlic has been used in medicine for centuries. Among its extensive medicinal repertoire is an excellent antiseptic ability. It was used to treat wounds and prevent gangrene during both world wars. Garlic also contains many antioxidants, which prevent cell damage from free radicals. Researchers report that regular garlic consumption can help prevent the growth of cancerous cells, hardening of arteries, high blood pressure, and unhealthy cholesterol levels. The active ingredient in garlic is called allicin.
The allicin content increases by several times after raw garlic has been chopped or crushed and left to sit for about ten minutes. This is a great way to get the most bang for your buck from your garlic. Eating it raw is the best way to consume it. You can mix it into cooked dishes at the end, rather than cooking it for a long time.
Hot peppers: Natural health experts know that there are many compelling reasons to consume hot peppers. In fact, they have been used as food and medicine for at least 9,000 years in North America, and probably longer in places such as Asia and Europe. The active ingredient is called capsaicin; it is very effective against pain and inflammation.
Cayenne pepper is a common oral remedy against stomach and digestive issues and circulation problems, and is also applied topically to help with skin, muscle and joint pain. Hot peppers also contain vitamins A and C, flavonoids and carotenoids. These colorful pigments give the peppers a strong antioxidant capacity.
Ginger: Ginger hails from the East, where it has been consumed in food and used in medicinal preparations for millennia. It is commonly used as a remedy for many conditions including digestive upset, nausea, arthritis, colic and heart conditions. There seems to be hardly anything that ginger can’t help with, since people also use it for colds and flu, headaches and menstrual pain. This is probably because its volatile oils and pungent phenol compounds are able to interact intelligently with the body to help with pain and illness of all sorts.
Raw honey: Most honey you find in the supermarket has been pasteurized and processed. This renders it basically a simple sugar that isn’t much healthier than white sugar. Raw honey, however, is left in its natural state with all of its medicinal constituents intact.
It is an alkaline-forming food that is made up of numerous vitamins, enzymes and antioxidants. This amazing compound has impressive antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties. It has even been recognized by mainstream medicine and is used in hospitals as a treatment for wounds. Raw honey has been shown to strengthen the immune system and help eliminate allergies and respiratory conditions.
Raw apple cider vinegar: We talk a lot about raw apple cider vinegar on The Alternative Daily, and for good reason! This simple natural food has an incredible array of benefits for human health. Apple cider vinegar has long been used in folk medicine, and has also been studied by the modern medical community. According to a number of recent studies, raw apple cider vinegar has the following abilities:
· helps diabetics control blood sugar levels
· promotes healthy triglyceride and cholesterol levels
· kills cancer cells and slows their growth
· supports healthy weight loss
· improves digestion and absorption of food
· creates a balanced and healthy gut biome with friendly bacteria
You can see why fire cider is so effective, since it brings so many incredible time-tested ingredients together. Natural herbal remedies often complement each other for even more and better effects when used together, so feel free to throw in any herbs, spices, roots, fruits or vegetables that you are familiar with.
Here is another recipe that uses some different spices for a twist on the traditional flavor of fire cider:
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All-Spiced Fire Cider
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| Prep Time: |
| 12weeks |
| Cook Time: |
| nocook |
| Total time: |
- 1/2cup finely minced red onion
- 1/2cup freshly grated ginger root
- 1/2cup grated carrot
- 10cloves of garlic, crushed
- 8pcs jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced into strips
- 1pc lime, juiced and strained
- 1pc lemon, juiced and strained
- 1tablespoon lemon zest
- 1teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1tablespoon whole cloves
- 1tablespoon whole allspice
- 2pcs anise stars
- 4pcs cinnamon sticks, broken
- 3pcs cardamom pods
- 1teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 6-7cups apple cider vinegar
- 2/3cup honey, optionally more to taste
- 1/3cup blackstrap molasses
- 1/2gallon clamp-top jar
- Whisk together molasses, honey, lemon and lime juices, and 4 cups of vinegar until completely blended.
- Using a mortar and pestle, crush (but do not pulverize) peppercorns, cloves, allspice, anise, cinnamon, cardamom and mustard seeds with lemon zest. Place all the ingredients but the vinegar into your 1/2 gallon jar. Once all ingredients are added to your jar, use more honey to taste if you want it sweeter, and add more vinegar to fill the jar to the top. Leave as little room for air as possible. Close tightly and shake well for a few minutes.
- Put on a shelf in a cool dark place such as a basement or closet and shake once a day for 12 weeks, leaving the jar standing on its lid one day, and its bottom the next.
Equipment: Mortar and pestle
If you don’t like spice: You can try adding small dashes of fire cider to your cooking rather than consuming it on its own. You can also reduce the hot chili peppers and add more raw honey. Start slow with the hot peppers because you can always add more after you have strained the cider.
At the first sign of a cold: Take 1 or 2 tablespoons of fire cider right away, and continue using it every 3 to 4 hours until the symptoms start to improve. You can also take a spoon or two daily as a preventative measure during the winter.
Mix with beverages: Add a little fiery flavor to your lemonade, orange juice or tea, or use it to add kick to a martini or Bloody Mary.
Add to cooking: Use some of your homemade fire cider in salad dressings, homemade condiments and marinades. You can also mix it into sautéed vegetables, soups or chilis.
It’s easy to mix up your own natural and affordable remedies from items you already have in the kitchen. Try these other natural remedies for common ailments.
—Liivi Hess
Liivi is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and is training to become a doula. She inspires women to find peace and personal power by taking control of health and fertility naturally. Liivi‘s passion is ancestral nutrition and primal lifestyle design. She and her partner Will live between Toronto, Canada and Queenstown, New Zealand.
Sources:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814605003262
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/btri/2011/917505/abs
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-fire-cider-recipes-from-the-kitchn-199972
https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/garlic
http://www.diynatural.com/fire-cider
https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/ginger
https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/cayenne