Fire Cider
Fire Cider is my go-to remedy for winter wellness—a powerful, immune-boosting tonic that’s been a beloved staple in herbal medicine for decades. Popularized by the legendary herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, fire cider combines the deep knowledge of folk medicine with simple, potent ingredients to support immunity, ease congestion, and keep the winter blues at bay. This fiery blend has horseradish, onions, garlic, ginger, and apple cider vinegar at its core, creating a warming elixir that “burns away” winter ailments and restores vitality.
In this recipe, I’ll walk you through the traditional ingredients as well as some favorite variations. You can customize it with herbs from your garden like rosemary, thyme, or sage to add extra potency and personal flair. Fire cider can be taken daily as a bracing shot, stirred into hot water with honey, or even used as a flavorful base for salad dressings or marinades—perfect for both health and taste. Using organic ingredients is ideal to ensure you’re getting the cleanest, most nourishing benefits from each ingredient. I can’t wait to share my recipe with you, along with some creative ways to make this remedy your own!
What you’ll need:
1 medium organic onion, chopped
10 cloves of organic garlic, crushed or chopped
2 organic jalapeno peppers, chopped
Zest and juice from 1 organic lemon
Zest and juice from 1 organic orange
1/2 cup fresh grated organic ginger root
1/2 cup fresh tumeric
1/2 cup fresh grated organic horseradish root
1/4 tsp. organic cayenne powder
3 springs of rosemary
3 springs of mint
Organic apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup rose hips
1/4 cup elderberries
1/4 cup of raw, local honey, or to taste
Directions:
Prepare your roots, fruits, and herbs and place them in a quart-sized glass jar. This year, I grated everything through the food processor.
If you've never grated fresh horseradish and peppers before, be prepared for a powerful sinus-opening experience!
Pour the apple cider vinegar in the jar until all of the ingredients are covered and the vinegar reaches the jar's top.
Use a piece of natural parchment paper under the lid to keep the vinegar from touching the metal, or a plastic lid if you have one. Shake well.
Store in a dark, cool place for a month and remember to shake daily.
After one month, use cheesecloth to strain out the pulp, pouring the vinegar into a clean jar. Be sure to squeeze as much of the liquidy goodness as you can from the pulp while straining.
Next comes the honey. Add and stir until incorporated.
Taste your cider and add more honey until you reach the desired sweetness.
Directions: Take a spoonful or small shot of Fire Cider daily to support immunity. At the onset of symptoms, use to help alleviate and shorten colds. Also perfect as a flavorful vinaigrette or marinade.
Refrigerate and use within one year for best quality.
Things to add in and why:
Here are some of my favorite things to add into Fire Cider. Sometimes it just depends on what I have around. As long as you have the base ingredients of horseradish, onions, garlic, ginger and apple cider vinegar, you can add in anything else to make it your own. You can also make a few different smaller batches and see which one you like best!
Elderberries: have immune enhancing properties. They are antiviral and are know for helping with respiratory colds.
Rose & Rose Hips: loaded with Vitamin C and helps with the production of white blood cells. They are also high in antioxidants, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory. They energetically remind me of love and we can all use a little extra love.
Cinnamon: has warming and stimulating properties. It helps boost our circulation and clear congestion.
Nettles: packed with nutrients and helps reduce inflammation.
Parsley: loaded with vitamin k for healthy bones. It is great as a digestion aid and full of antioxidants and is antiviral.
Rosemary: is an amazing brain tonic, it enhances the cellular uptake of oxygen. It can help with headaches, migraines and mild depression.It is also a good digestive aid.
Sage: is great for helping strengthen your vitality during a long term illness. Sage is a drying herb and helps remove fluids from the body. Sage is also antiseptic and helps relax our mucus membranes.
Thyme: nature’s disinfectant. Can be used to fight off colds, as well as thyme can be used in a gargle or tea to help with a sore throat.
Lemon Balm: is antiviral and a nervine
Share with me how your fire cider turns out or if you have any questions.
The elderberries gives this batch a dark purple color.