Lately, herbalists on social media have been promoting an all-natural DIY shot that they claim will boost your immune system and keep you from getting sick all winter! Just take a spoonful a day to keep the doctor away!

Does it work? Is it easy to make?

I’ve been making Fire Cider for about 2 years now, and I can say yes to both.

In fact, I recently was without my stash of fire cider when my kids got sick, and for the first time in a long time, I actually got sick with them. I’ve also been handing this out to friends and family members in hopes of helping them through the winter season. It seems to help stave off illness or reduce symptoms.

Of course, that is all anecdotal evidence. You want some real evidence to back it up.

The reason why it works, is that it concentrates the nutrients from the ingredients, like garlic and lemon, that are well-known for their immune system boosting abilities. With garlic, it is the allicin that is thought to help aid in immune function, and that allicin is released when the garlic is chopped. That allicin is absorbed into the vinegar and stays after you strain away the plant matter.

It also has an apple cider vinegar base, which is another super ingredient with a variety of uses.

Are you ready to give it a shot? (pun intended)

Here’s my recipe!

Fire Cider

Ingredients
16 oz Apple Cider Vinegar
1 white onion
1 lemon
1 lime
2 jalapenos (or any hot pepper)
2 heads of garlic
3”-4” piece of ginger
2” piece of horseradish
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sprigs thyme
1 tsp whole peppercorns
1 Tbsp ground turmeric
(unless you can find turmeric root, then add it like horseradish)

You will want to chop your produce up, it doesn’t have to be perfect but the more surface area exposed, the easier the nutrients can absorb into the liquid.

Once you have everything chopped, pack it into a mason jar. The more you put in, the stronger the flavor will be, but it will also be more potent. If you aren’t accustomed to the taste of apple cider vinegar, you might want to only fill each jar about halfway. I personally fill mine almost to the brim to make a very potent blend. Once you have your jars filled to your desired level, pour in the ACV and fill it to the top. You might use more or less ACV depending on how much you fill each jar.

I re-use the glass jars from anything in my kitchen, olive jars, sauce jars….anything glass works.

I put a piece of parchment paper over the top of each jar before I put the lids on to keep them from leaking. It does typically stain the lid yellow and make it smell strongly like onion and garlic, so you might not want to re-use those afterwards.

Then you shake it vigorously, store it in a cool, dark cupboard, and let it sit for 6 weeks. I typically shake it up every day or two, but if you miss a few days, it’s not the end of the world.

After it has been about 6 weeks, you are going to strain the mixture through a cheesecloth, into a sterile glass jar, in order to extract all of the liquid from the plant matter. You can then compost what is left of the plant matter for a fully zero-waste process!

Once you’re ready to give it a try, you can mix it with raw honey to help with the taste (and the immune boost). Take about a tablespoon per day. You can take more, up to an ounce, when you’re exposed to a virus or maybe you feel something coming on.

It can be stored in a cool, dry place and lasts about 12 months. You can refrigerate it if you’d like, it will make it last longer.

I find myself making this about once every 4-6 months, so I have not had a batch go the full 12 months yet. Each batch has been a little bit different, as I’ve tweaked the recipe and found what works best.

It’s not always possible to find turmeric root, but it can be omitted from the recipe if that is the case.

I personally love the taste of horseradish, but it can be hard to find. If I can find it, it’s going in there. However, I would not recommend going for a processed horseradish replacement. You can simply leave it out instead. You can also omit it if you just don’t like the flavor!

Now that you know how to make it, you have no reason not to try it! The ingredients are simple and straight-forward. But this recipe is just a starting point. You can do your own experimentation and figure out how you like it best too!

Have you ever tried to make fire cider?
Are you willing to try it?