Fire Cider is a spicy, sour, pungent, sweet concoction of apple cider vinegar, onions, garlic, ginger, horseradish, cayenne, honey, and/or whatever else its maker desires. It makes a wonderfully effective home remedy for cold and flu, and many herbalists use it as a daily tonic.
I need to post an herbalism book review soon–I’ve been voraciously reading about herbalism and adjacent topics for months. My latest favorite is Fire Cider! by Rosemary Gladstar and Friends. Rosemary, in her passionate enthusiasm for and pointed defense of herbalism, gathered many herbalists to compile their fire cider recipes (each personalized after an ages’ old remedy for cold & flu) in response to Shire City Herbals trademarking Fire Cider in 2012, suing herbalists for the “Free Fire Cider” movement, and going after herbalists for continuing to sell their fire ciders as… “fire ciders.” After years in legal battle, a federal judge ruled in 2019 that “fire cider” is a generic term and can’t be owned by a single company. (In 2022, Shire City Herbals went out of business.) The resulting book is a wonderful collection of recipes, uses, and short stories. It is such an inspiring and entertaining book, and is so beautifully organized. Tradition over trademark!
Ages’ Old Fire Cider Recipe (Rosemary’s Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup horseradish, grated
- 1/4 cup garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup ginger, grated
- 1 cayenne , sliced
- I thought I would use serranos when my grocery store didn’t have cayenne, but I ultimately replaced fresh cayenne with 1tsp powdered cayenne.
- Raw apple cider vinegar to cover (~7 cups)
- 1-2 cups raw honey, to taste
- Half gallon canning jar
Instructions
- Fill a half gallon canning jar with the onions, horseradish, garlic, ginger, and cayenne.
- With this much grating, I put on a cutting glove!
- Pour in apple cider vinegar to fill the jar. To avoid corroding metal, either use a plastic jar lid or put a square of parchment paper between the metal and the fire cider.
- Allow to infuse for 3-4 weeks.
- Strain out the marc (the pickled onions and herbs, you can reserve this for a recipe below).
- Sweeten as desired with raw honey.
- Some herbalists don’t sweeten the jar and instead sweeten as taken (1 tbsp honey with 2 tbsp fire cider in warm water). Do what works best for you, there is no one correct way!
- I like 1 cup for this recipe, added to the vinegar.
- Store in a dark place, or preferably in your fridge. Fire cider should keep for 6 months (not refrigerated), to 12 months (refrigerated)
Feeling inspired by all the variations in the book, I made my own rendition too. It’s summertime and I decided to lean into vibrant orange. I added freshly grated turmeric (about 1/4 cup), a few teaspoons of ground pepper, a cinnamon stick, and the zest & juice of an orange. Be sure to label your fire ciders!
How to traditionally use Fire Cider
Fire cider can be used as a daily tonic with a dosage of 1-2 tbsp per day. It is most often diluted in a cup of warm water. It is also wonderful added to ginger tea.
At the first whisper of a cold, fire cider can be taken in teaspoon increments (still diluted in water) on the hour. The maximum dosing is 3 tablesppons/day when ill, 9 teaspoons.
More Fire Cider Recipes & Uses
Elderberry on Fire
Nancy Scarzello won the 2016 Women’s Herbal Conferance fire cider contest with her creative combination of fire cider and elderberry syrup.
Nancy’s Elderberry Syrup
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh elderberries (or 1 cup dry elderberries)
- 6 cups water
- 2 cups honey
Instructions
- Boil the berries and water in a pan. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, intermittently smashing the berries to release their juice.
- Cool, strain and squeeze through a cheesecloth, returning the elderberry juice to the pan.
- Add the honey, warming just enough to blend.
- Bottle and store in the refrigerator.
Nancy’s Elderberry on Fire
Combine 2/3 cup fire cider with 1/3 cup elderberry syrup. Mix well, bottle, and store in the fridge. She also says 1 ounce of elderberry on fire topped with sparkling water makes a refreshing mocktail!
Fire Cider Dust (Dehydrated Marc)
Fire Cider Dust (and the dusted roasted nuts!) was created by Jessica Shepherd, she also makes fire cider chips (dehydrated marc before grinding).
Dry your marc at 125°F until fully dried (12-18 hours). Then, grind in a spice grinder. Toss freshly roasted nuts with a little oil and a little dust for an addictive snack! Fire cider dust can be used to season pretty much anything.
Fire Cider Onions
This recipe is from Dr. Mary Bove.
She recommended this recipe as a condiment and sandwich dressser.
Ingredients
- 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup red onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1-2 tbsp fire cider
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients in a mason jar.
These pickled onions will keep in the fridge for 4-6 weeks!
Fire Cider Shrub
Ingredients
- Fresh fruits, chopped/mashed
- Herbs, chopped
- Fire cider
- Raw honey
Instructions
- Fill a jar half-full with fresh fruits, mash with a wooden pestle.
- Add a handful of fresh chopped herbs.
- Cover the fruits and herbs with fire cider, filling the jar about three-quarters full.
- Allow vinegar to infuse for at least week (or a few months).
- Drain the vinegar into a clean jar and add a half-part honey to sweeten.
- To serve, pour about a tablespoon of shrub in a glass and fill the remainder with sparkling water. Garnish if you feel festive!
Blackberries and thyme make a lovely summertime pairing!
Fire Cider Vinaigrette
This recipe is August’s Salad Dressing by Nichole Wolfgang.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fire cider
- 1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together and pour over your favorite bowl of fresh greens.
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