Fire Cider
Happiest Samhain! I arrive to you this special day to talk about a fall staple: fire cider.
Humans have been making vinegars for over 10,000 years. Food and drink, food preservation, medicine, and antiseptic washes, our relationship with vinegar is older than any country on Earth.
When alcohol, made of fruit or grain, is allowed to continue developing past the metabolization of the alcohol you get vinegar. When vinegar is used as a solvent to pull the medicinal qualities from plants you get infused vinegar.
Fire cider, an infused vinegar made with apple cider vinegar and spicy plants, can be added to a warm meal to decrease post-meal insulin and blood sugar levels. It can give you a little daily immune boost, which is especially nice in the cold and damp winter months. It can also keep your digestive system in tune with probiotics from the living vinegar! It’s yummy and healthy, my favorite food attribute combination.
Our recipe was inspired by the amazing herbalist, Rosemary Gladstar, who brought popularity to fire cider in the United States. It’s a malleable recipe, changing each year based on my mood and what produce is both available and abundant. They core ingredients, those that I always use, are underlined below.
Ozark Herbalism Fire Cider Recipe
Prep time: 45 minutes - 1 hr, Infusion time: 1 month
Ingredients
Fresh grated horseradish
Ginger, also grated
Garlic, chopped or crushed
Onions, finely chopped
Turmeric root, grated or powder
Lemon juice
Rosemary
Thyme
Oregano
Cilantro
Black Pepper
Honey
Hot peppers
Raw ACV (apple cider vinegar)
Directions
Chop up and squish all of the ingredients
Put in a big glass jar
Fill jar with raw ACV until ingredients are fully covered
Put a square of parchment paper between jar and lid
Tighten lid and shake jar
Put in a cool dry place
Shake every day for a month
Strain
Put in clean jar
Label with date made, date extracted, and ingredients
Enjoy!
