It's that time of the year where colds, stomach bugs, and just plain sickness lurks now until the colder months are complete. One of the things that have become a staple for me in my kitchen during the winter months is fire cider. I have been making fire cider not only for myself but gift it to others for winter solstice gifts and Christmas presents. Let's dive into why I love it and what it is.
Fire cider is a mixture of spices, herbs with a pungent & astringent tonic component to it. I use it anytime someone in my family is sick. I take 1-2 spoonfuls to prevent illness. Yes, it really does work. Let's take an Ayurvedic science outlook on why it works- think of the fire cider itself as the pitta dosha, it's heat building, you take a spoonful of it and the vata dosha (the wind element) pushes the pitta through the body and moves the stagnate kapha energy which usually will cause the illness to get stuck in certain parts of the respiratory tract to move throughout the body breaking up the illness that could potentially get stuck.
One of the reasons I prefer to make it vs. buy it is I know what is going into the tonic. I know there is not extra preservatives in there. I also find homemade tonics tend to work a little better. I personally keep mine on my shelf and don't refrigerate it but it's up to you where you want to store the tonic. It's typically good for the entire winter season. I would throw it out at the end of the winter season if you have some left. I also don't give this to my 2 year old son yet as it has a pretty distinct taste so I prefer to make an elderberry syrup for him to take. I will discuss how to make that on a future blog.
How do we make it?
You will need a 9 oz mason jar
It will take about 15 minutes to make it but it will need to sit on your counter for 1 month before you use it.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- Apple cider vinegar (it will be used to fill up the jar so anywhere from 1-5 cups)
- 1 tbsp turmeric fresh works as well just chop it up
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger chopped
- 2 small peppers any variety chopped
- 1 small jalapeno
- Juice of lemon
- 2 inches sliced burdock root (optional if you can't find it)
- Honey to taste (add after you have infused it for 1 month)
Place all ingredients in a jar and pour apple cider vinegar over the top until all of the ingredients are covered.
After 4 weeks strain liquid into your mason jar and discard the rest of the ingredients. Add honey in any amount and enjoy. Again I let mine sit on a shelf all winter but you can refrigerate if you're not comfortable with that.
Check out the video walking you through the process
For even more herb medicine tips try my free 28 day Ayurvedic toolkit guide where you will learn one new natures medicine tip a day for a month.
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