diy fire cider: radical folk medicine
Fire Cider is a warming, antimicrobial, antiviral and invigorating remedy that is used as a tonic to support your immune, circulatory + respiratory systems during cold and flu season. Traditional recipes usually call for onion, horseradish, garlic, ginger, spicy peppers and lemon infused in a base of raw apple cider vinegar, but you can get creative from there and add or leave out what suits your fancy. This is simple and powerful herbal folk medicine that you can make at home with common items that you can easily find at the grocery store or may already have in your kitchen!
Our ancestors have been using healing foods like garlic, onion, spicy peppers, vinegar, etc as medicine since the beginning! In an effort to bring herbal medicine back into people’s hands and kitchens, beloved herbalist, Rosemary Gladstar shared a recipe she created and coined “fire cider” in the early 1970s, which she then shared freely with her students and community. Over the years, the recipe has become a popular favorite amongst herbalists and kitchen witches near and far.
If you can believe it, fire cider has a radical past! In 2012 a company called Shire City Herbals trademarked the name “Fire Cider” and began making it impossible for other small herbalists to call their medicine “fire cider” by threatening lawsuits. Herbalists were up in arms, but it wasn’t just about a name, this was pretty scary on a larger scale. If companies like Shire City Herbals were allowed to ‘own’ a product that they didn’t create or name, it would set a precedent which could prevent other herbalists from using traditional folk remedies in commerce. Not long after, a group of intrepid herbalists started an awareness and fundraising campaign called Free Fire Cider and brought the issue to court. Finally, after a multiple year battle, in 2019 this group of fierce herbalists won! Now, Fire Cider is generic, meaning it cannot be trademarked; a huge win for us all!
I hope you’ll feel inspired and empowered to use food as medicine and try out the recipe below! It’s the same recipe that Rosemary Gladstar first introduced years ago! Fire cider is a lot of fun to make with friends and dear ones. So call up your pals, make it a spicy party!
(If you’d like to skip the mess and purchase fire cider, I encourage you to support your local herbalists and small businesses)!
Without further ado, Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe!
Ingredients
½ cup grated fresh horseradish root
½ cup or more chopped onions
¼ cup or more chopped garlic
¼ cup or more grated ginger
Cayenne pepper, fresh (chop it up) or dried (flaked or ground), to taste
Apple cider vinegar (preferably raw and organic)
Honey
Directions
Place the herbs in a half-gallon mason jar and add enough vinegar to cover them by 3 to 4 inches. Seal the jar with a tight-fitting lid. Place the jar in a warm spot and let sit for 3 to 4 weeks. Shake the jar every day to help in the maceration process.
After 3 to 4 weeks, strain out the herbs, reserving the liquid. Warm the honey (so that it will mix in well) and add it to the vinegar, to taste. “To taste” means your fire cider should be hot, spicy, and sweet. “A little bit of honey helps the medicine go down . . .” The honey also helps cool the heat, moistens, and balances all the fiery ingredients.
Bottle, label, and enjoy! Fire cider will keep for several months unrefrigerated if stored in a cool pantry. But it’s better to store it in the refrigerator if you have the room.
A small shot glass daily serves as an excellent tonic. Or take fire cider by teaspoons throughout the day if you feel a cold coming on. Take it more frequently, if necessary, to help your immune system do battle.
FIRE CIDER RECIPE EXCERPTED FROM FIRE CIDER! © 2019 BY ROSEMARY GLADSTAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.Tips from this witch’s kitchen!
Vinegar can corrode metal pretty easily and possibly leach scary metals into your liquid (no thank you)! To create a barrier between the metal and the vinegar, make sure to cover the opening of your glass jar with parchment paper before you put on your lid (or better yet, use a silicone lid). This is also important to keep in mind if you decide to transfer the final product into smaller bottles.
I’ve learned from practice that even the process of making fire cider can start to fire up and clear the sinuses (oh what fun)! Be careful when chopping spicy peppers, don’t touch your face, you may even want to wear gloves! ;)
Remember, you can customize your own recipe and play around if that’s your style! I tend to go easy on the horseradish, double down on the ginger, and add in an anti-oxidant berry like blackberries, fresh turmeric root for its anti-inflammatory properties, and herbs I may have in the garden like fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, lemon balm, etc.
Have fun and enjoy!!!
<3 Kat