Fire Cider.
Immune boosting bug busting goodness and all round tonic.
The best ever immune booster in fact. Well, we think so.
This is a traditional herbal recipe that you can easily make at home to help keep colds and flu at bay, and reduce your recovery time those times that you do get sick.
Now is the time to get brewing - it is always the time to have a batch of fire cider on the go. Fire cider will keep you going through out the colder months of the year, actually we like to have some on hand year round for those summer colds too!
The important thing is you need it to brew for at least 4 weeks - preferably 6 weeks or more, but it is better to use it even straight away if you need it than go without.
So get chopping, and when this batch is ready, start on your next one, and keep boosting your immunity!
The Recipe
What you need - what you can get or have on hand of the following immune boosters; the ACV, onion, garlic, ginger and cayenne are the main ones to make sure you have:
- Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar ACV)
- Honey - raw and organic (you wont use this until you have brewed the mix)
- Organic Orange - 1 sliced, with rind on
- Organic Lemon - 1 sliced, with rind on
- Organic Onion - 1 medium, chopped
- Organic Horseradish - 1/2 cup, grated, if you can get it; we haven't been able to and it still works amazingly
- Organic Ginger - 1/2 cup, grated
- Organic Habanero or Jalapeno chili's - 2, chopped or use any hot chili, you can also use Cayenne pepper. I usually use both
- Organic Garlic - 10 cloves, crushed (not the big russian or elephant cloves its not 'real' garlic and doesn't have the full health benefits, you want the Italian ones)
- Organic Turmeric - - 1/4 cup, grated, or 1 TBSP powdered
you can also add: black peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, fresh bay leaves
Prepare all your ingredients - chop, grate, dice, measure...
Pack into a clean 1 litre jar.
Pour enough ACV into the jar to cover your ingredients to about 5 cm above. Make sure there are no bubbles.
Seal your jar - use one with a plastic or glass lid, or if its metal place some greaseproof paper over the top of the jar before you close it (the vinegar will rust metal). Shake well.
Place in a nice dark cupboard, and leave for 4-6 weeks, shaking on a daily basis.
When you are done brewing your Fire Cider - the longer you go the more potent it will be - strain it into a clean jar.
I like to pour it though some cheese cloth or a clean linen teatowel so I can give the ginger and onions etc a good squeeze out, getting more potency, and more fire cider!
Add your raw honey to taste - this also has healing benefits, so get some really good organic raw honey and be generous! I mix it about 50-50 ACV infusion to honey.
Refrigerate and store for up to one year- you will probably use it up way before then.
Dose: take 1/2 - 1 tablespoon a day as an immune boosting tonic through out the cooler months to keep illness at bay.
When sick, or feel you are coming down with something - take at least four hourly doses, and then continue with four doses a day until you are feeling well again.
Drink UP!
p.s. you can take your fire cider straight up, or dilute it in water, especially if you find the vinegar infusion strong on your stomach.