Fire Cider... Ever Heard of It? Here's How to Make My Favorite Kind!
Hello, everyone!
If you've been a part of the SBA fam for any amount of time, you'll know we love our herbs around here! There are endless opportunities when it comes to using herbs... skincare, cooking, topical remedies, simmer pots... we love it all! Today, we're going to be focusing on using herbs in another one of my favorite immune-boosting recipes: Fire Cider.
Between the fermented raw honey and garlic, homemade elderberry syrup, and this fire cider recipe, you will have your immune-boosting arsenal fully loaded. =) I love focusing on preventative measures when it comes to seasonal sicknesses, so these recipes are just some of the ways I stay on top of my family's immunity year-long.
This fire recipe is a herb-heavy one. There are so many different fire cider recipes out there, but this is my favorite one because of its versatility and immune-boosting ingredients.
I love adding it to tea or sparkling water... I crave it sometimes! I know the ingredients may not look like they "go together", but don't knock it until you try it =)
Fire cider can not only be drank, but it can be incorporated into many different kinds of recipes! Add it to salad dressings, use it as a marinade, take it straight when starting to feel under the weather, use in salad dressings, or in tea with honey... but just make sure the tea is at drinking temp, not boiling when adding fire cider... you don't want to kill off those delicate probiotics with boiling temps!
Click here to watch a video of how I prepare this recipe!
Ingredients:
-I used a 64-ounce jar for this recipe. You can add less or more ingredients to fill up whatever jar you use.
-1 lemon
-1/2 grapefruit
-1/2 apple
-1/4 cup fresh chopped ginger
-1/2 red onion, finely chopped
-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
-1 jalapeño (or 1/2 without seeds if you don't want it too hot)
-2 cinnamon sticks
-1/2 teaspoon turmeric
-1/2 cup raw honey (add AFTER you strain the herbs and everything out)
Additional Ingredients:
These optional ingredients below that I added as shown in this recipe video are not typically in most traditional fire cider recipes. I like to add in my fire cider recipe their flavor + immune-boosting qualities. They are:
-1/8 cup dried elderberry
-1/4 cup hibiscus
-1 tbsp. dried rosehips
Instructions:
-Combine herbs in a jar.
-Pour the vinegar, making sure it covers the ingredients by at least 1-2 inches.
-Cap with a plastic or lined lid to prevent the corrosion that occurs when vinegar touches metal.
-Let sit in a cold, dark place for at least one month, shaking occasionally and adding more vinegar if needed.
-Strain herbs and fruit/veggies. Don't squeeze moisture out of fruit if using a strainer bag. You don't want the moisture from the fruits seeping too much into the ACV or it could shorten shelf life.
That's all for today!
Here to help,
Chelsea Henderson
SBA Founder & Herbalist