Fire Cider – Delicious Medicine

Fall is in the air, school is back in session and germs on kiddy hands are ready to invade my well being! With these things in mind, i have been focusing some of my harvesting and food preserving on making medicine from the herbs and vegetables i have on hand. That’s right: medicine started on the ground in the form of powerful herbs, fruits and other plants and it is important that we remember to harness that natural power.

I have made several tinctures so far (elderberry and echinacea) to help me stave off colds and flus and relieve the symptoms if i do catch a bug. I have included eldberberries in a batch of delicious, low sugar grape jelly to add an antioxidant kick to my morning toast. I brew colloidal silver regularly to help my rabbits fight off infection and take a generous swig every morning or so. But one folkloric medicine that has been on my list and in my Pinterest boards, yet not in my pantry: Fire Cider!

You may have heard of this, you may not have. Either way, you should make a batch this year. Even if you don’t believe in the healing power of herbs (what is wrong with you, btw?) this concoction is delicious and will be awesome in salad dressings, on rice, on stir fries, and slurped up along with my multi-vitamin pill as a daily health booster.

Basics:

Fire Cider is basically a tincture or ferment using raw cider vinegar and powerful veggies and herbs. The base blend includes garlic, onion, horseradish, ginger and hot peppers. These ingredients should already be stocked in your fridge and pantry for their health benefits and delicious taste. All of them are great sick-busters. Add a few other antioxidant/vitamin rich veggies and herbs, top the whole thing with raw vinegar and soak for a month or two and voila: medicine! I used: (All ingredients shredded in my food processor) Onion, garlic, fresh horseradish, jalapenos, cayenne, black pepper, fresh turmeric, rose hips, lemon rinds, parsley (root and leaves), fresh ginger. All ingredients were grown by me except the ginger and turmeric which were grown locally by a friend. The cider vinegar is homemade from fresh, local cider and i’ll finish it with a generous dollup of local, raw honey. Shabam, it smells amazing.

I was not overly picky about my amounts, since i love all the ingredients i used. But if you’d like a proper ‘recipe’ visit Self Reliance for the complete article, which includes even more detailed information on how/why fire cider works its magic.  My fire cider will be ready in mid-November and i can’t wait to taste it, and to make it at every summer’s end!