The Ultimate Fire Cider Recipe for Boosting Defenses

***DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A DOCTOR, AN HERBALIST, A NUTRITIONIST, ANY KIND OF HEALTH CARE WORKER. I AM A CHEF. I AM SHARING MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND MY RESEARCH.***

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I know it’s almost summer. And no one thinks of colds during the summer. But they do still happen. And if you don’t end up using it this over the summer, it will be nice and ready for when the weather changes again and our immune system takes a hit.

Fire Cider is a natural remedy and overall health tonic. It is recommended that you take 1-2 tsp a day to maintain overall health and to ward off sickness.

Personally, I don’t take this daily, but I do always have a jar in my pantry. When I started writing this, it was Thursday. The Wednesday before I started to feel a tickle in my throat. By Thursday morning it was severe sinus pressure and my throat hurt. So I took a very large shot of this tonic mixed with local honey.

I immediately felt the burn in the back of my throat and at the back of my sinuses. I almost immediately felt better. No sore throat, no sinus pressure, nothing.

Later that night the sore throat was starting to creep back in, so I took another shot.

The next morning It was just a tiny bit of sore throat and sinus pressure. Not too bad but I felt like if I just stopped, the sickness would creep back in. So another shot went down.

31.5 hours later, I started to feel a bit of sinus pressure. So another shot! I felt fine for days! And then, a week later, Thursday morning, I have no voice.

So does this work? I guess? Will it work for you? I have no idea. Am I a doctor? Nope. Am I an herbalist? Nope. I’m simply telling you what I have experienced this week. I mean I am not actually sick. I feel like it kept the worst of it at bay.

So what IS Fire Cider?

The base is good quality apple cider vinegar with “the mother”. The rest of it varies from recipe to recipe. This recipe is pretty basic, but you can omit or add anything you feel would be beneficial. For this post, I will be researching the health benefits of each ingredient.

The ingredients

*BELOW IS A LIST OF INGREDIENTS AND THEIR HEALTH BENEFITS. I AM NOT A DOCTOR, HERBALIST OR ANY KIND OF HEALTH EXPERT. I AM SIMPLY PASSING ON WHAT I FOUND ONLINE. *

Apple Cider Vinegar: Every fire cider recipe I’ve ever seen starts with Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar with “The Mother”. According to Healthline, “Apple cider vinegar is made by fermenting the sugar from apples. This turns them into acetic acid, which is a main active ingredient in vinegar and may be responsible for its health benefits.” The “mother” in the apple cider vinegar is “Organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar also contains a substance called mother, which consists of strands of proteins, enzymes, and friendly bacteria that give the product a murky appearance.” Apple cider vinegar is antibacterial, helps blood sugar, helps the heart, cholesterol, blood pressure and more.

Ginger: This is another one of those ingredients that I have seen in every Fire Cider recipe I’ve seen. Ginger is considered a spice, the part we use is the “underground stem part” of the ginger plant. Wouldn’t…I mean…isn’t that the root…? Anyway…The health benefits are listed as: antibacterial, helps blood sugar, helps menstrual symptoms, lowers cholesterol, aids digestion, boosts immunity, can help oral health and more.

Turmeric: Turmeric has had a lot more studies than ginger or vinegar. Turmeric is a flowering plant in the ginger family native to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The rhizome is the part of the plant that is consumed. The active ingredient is curcumin which has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Because of the curcumin, turmeric can help with any condition that causes or is caused by inflammation such as cancer, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease or pancreatitis. Turmeric also helps the heart, but specifically it increases the health of the endothelial membranes. These membranes in the heart helps regulate blood pressure and keeps the heart “young”. It is said that curcumin can help prevent diabetes and may even help treat diabetes. There is evidence that curcumin may help improve insulin resistance and lower blood lipids. BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), a protein in the brain and spinal cord that keeps the nerve cells healthy are low in individuals with brain disorders like Alzheimer’s. Curcumin can help prevent or even reverse brain degeneration.

Garlic: Part of the lily family, there are many health benefits of garlic, but according to India Times, it is best to eat garlic raw on an empty stomach. Apparently cooking the garlic lowers the efficacy of the garlic for your health. This Fire Cider is a good form then since we do not cook the garlic. Also, unlike a lot of the other ingredients above there are some warnings about not eating too much garlic. Likely because you can get garlic supplements and it’s easy to overdo it. Garlic helps boost the immune system, redeuce high blood pressure, reduce cholesterol levels, helps prevent cancer, has antibiotic properties, can help prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia, help your bones and more.

Thyme: Thyme is one of my favorite herbs. It is actually from the mint family. I love the delicate herbaceous flavor. But the health benefits are just as impressive. It can help fight acne, lower blood pressure, help coughs, boost your immunity, it has disinfecting properties, mood boosting properties, helps fight bacterial and yeast infections, can help prevent cancer.

Black Peppercorns: I think we are all familiar with black pepper. It’s a staple in most cooking. Black peppercorns are the dried berries from a vine called Piper nigrum. It is high in antioxidants, has anti-inflammatory properties, is good for the brain and memory and can help Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s patients, can help blood sugar, can help lower cholesterol, may be able to help fight cancer, can help the body absorb nutrients better, promote gut health, can be a natural pain reliever, and much more!

Onion: I use onion in my cooking almost every day. Onions are actually part of the Lily family, like garlic. Cooking can reduce some of the health benefits, but not all. So eating a mix of raw and cooked onion is a good way to go. This fire cider extracts the health benefits of the raw onion. Like almost everything else on this list, onion is high in antioxidants, has anti-cancer properties, antibacterial, supports the heart, gut, bones, helps blood sugar, helps the respiratory system and more.

Orange: Besides being high in vitamin C, oranges are wonderful for your health. They help boost your immunity, great for your eyes, hair and skin, helps the heart, brain, vision and stomach, can help prevent cancer.

Lemon: I don’t think it’s a surprise at all that lemons are on this list and the health benefits are vast. Lemons have a lot of vitamin C, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Like oranges, lemons are good for your skin, helps your body absorb iron, is high in antioxidants, can help blood pressure, can help inflammation, aid digestion, and can help ease fluid retention.

Lime: I don’t normally see lime in these recipes, but I had one that needed to be used up and I figured why not. Like lemon, lime can help your immunity, help with heart disease, prevent kidney stones, aids in iron absorption, is good for skin, and is high in vitamin C and antioxidants.

Habanero Pepper: The compound in habaneros that has the most health benefits is the capsaicin. They are high in Vitamin C, A, B6, E, potassium and manganese. Like many others on this list, habanero can help with cancer, pain relief, cancer prevention, help blood sugar, help with cholesterol and blood pressure, digestion, can help with congestion and more.

Not pictured above, but put in my latest batch: rosemary, cloves and bay leaf.

Rosemary: Antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-apoptic (according to google: Anti-apoptotic protein. A protein that interferes with or inhibits the process of apoptosis. Apoptosis. A form of programmed cell death whereby damaged or unwanted cells convert themselves into food for macrophages.). Helps with blood sugar, supports the brain, and is full of antioxidants.

Cloves: Cloves are full of antioxidants, helps, your heart, your blood sugar, cancer, antibacterial, helps inflammation, helps cough, helps digestion, sore throats, fights viral infections, bronchitis and sinus issues.

Bay Leaf: We put a bay leaf in our soup or rice and then don’t really think about it again until it’s time to pull it out. But according to Health Shots, bay leaves do a lot for us. It’s good for the blood sugar, digestion, respiratory system, inflammation, the heart, hair and fights fungal infections.

So now that we know the health benefits of the ingredients involved, let’s talk about how to make it.

The Process

The process for Fire Cider is INCREDIBLY simple. First, you get 2 clean mason jars. Rinse all the ingredients.

You cut the lemon, lime, orange, ginger, habanero and onion.

Then split everything evenly between the two clean mason jars.

Once all your ingredients are in the jars, fill them with the apple cider vinegar until it covers the ingredients.

Seal the jars with lids and label with the date made.

Allow the Fire Cider to sit for at least 6 weeks.

You can take 1-2 tsp daily as an immunity booster or take 1-2 oz several times a day when you already feel the illness starting.

The way I do this is to strain out the amount I need and to whisk it gently with equal parts raw honey.