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Literally everyone and their mother and uncle and brother have a fire cider recipe and an opinion on what the ingredients of fire cider are. I believe it all started with renowned herbalist Rosemary Gladstar. The fun part is, you can make it your own and have your very own concocted traditional fire cider recipe! It’s just a fancy vinegar tonic that you steep some powerhouse immune boosting ingredients in and then assault your tastebuds when you take it. I’m telling you. This stuff is not my favorite. I actually heave just thinking about knocking some back. BUT. It is effective, which is why I continue to torture myself. Any inkling of feeling worn down, drug out, sore throats or sick with cold or flu symptoms… a shot or two of this will have me back in no time. It can also be taken for preventative measures. The recipe I’m givin’ you is one you can go crazy and add whatever you want! Add all your ingredients and top off with raw apple cider vinegar (or use homemade apple scrap vinegar like I do), let it infuse, strain, and then store on the shelf indefinitely. It’s vinegar. It won’t go bad!

Not only is this good for boosting the immune system, but it does make a zesty salad dressing! Many people get hung up on this being “medicine” and wanting dosages and if they can take it if they’re doing this or that… and we gotta remember… this is literally food. You could eat it on a salad. Nature’s medicine is food! Food fuels us which is why this powerful antioxidant rich tonic works amazingly. Mix this potent tonic with some honey when you’re ready to take it or just knock it back as is with a chaser to ease the burn and you’ll be good. It’s not that serious, but I’m also not giving you medical advice.

If you’re feeling fancy, feel free to split this batch into several smaller jars and give it as gifts. If you layer in all the ingredients just-so and make it neat and pretty with lots of healthy herbs, it looks super cool in the jar. Plus you’re gifting something super useful!

In This Post You'll Find...

Tips for Making a Great Fire Cider

Make your fire cider during the height of gardening season when you have fresh produce at your fingertips.
Use ingredients that work for you and your tolerances. You know your own health properties better than I do.
Use RAW vinegar otherwise you won’t be getting all the lovely properties from the unpasteurized apple cider vinegar.
Use any hot peppers you like or have grown. I just normally stick with jalapenos because the heat level is tolerable for me.
Use herbs or ingredients you would like to have to boost your immune system. Have an understanding of medicinal plants and herbs and how to use them.
Research interactions between the ingredients you’re using and make sure they don’t negate one another or find those that enhance others (ex: black peppercorn enhances the uptake with turmeric… although I don’t add it because the hot peppers do the same thing, although some people will argue that, that is my opinion).
Understand and be comfortable with using herbal remedies.

The best part is you can use whatever fire cider ingredients you want as long as you stick with the general gist of the recipe… otherwise it really won’t be fire cider anymore. Stick with the key ingredients of citrus (an excellent source of vitamin C), onions, garlic, and spicy peppers and go ham from there. Many recipes call for horseradish root, but I tried… I really did… because Rosemary said to and it freaking burns my sinuses it’s so hot :D I can’t do it. So I stick with the hot peppers for now. Also, again, be sure to use RAW and UNPASTEURIZED apple cider vinegar as it is a key component of fire cider. Without it, you’ll be losing a lot in your tonic because the powers of apple cider vinegar on our health goes back centuries.

Let’s get started with my homemade fire cider recipe!

Equipment You Might Want:

1 gallon glass jar
Nonreactive lid
Swing top jar

Ingredients:

4 sliced oranges
2 sliced onions
5 sliced jalapenos
1 cup chopped ginger root
4 sliced lemons
10+ cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
4 Rosemary sprigs
4 Thyme sprigs
1 cup fresh oregano
1 cup chopped turmeric root
2 cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 quarts apple scrap vinegar (or RAW apple cider vinegar)

Step 1: Fill the Jar

Sanitize the mason jar and lid. You obviously don’t want to use a dirty jar even though we’re using antibacterial vinegar.

Layer in all ingredients except the vinegar. Mix them up or just toss them in in layers. If you’re doing smaller jars, equally distribute the ingredients between the jars.

Do not overfill the jar. Make sure all the ingredients stay below 1 1/2 inch headspace.

Pour apple cider vinegar until all ingredients are completely submerged and covered.

Step 2: Infuse

Add a nonreactive lid and put in a cool dark place for 1 month. During this time, shake the jar as you think of it, daily is best, but I’m not about that life.

Step 3: Strain

Strain through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer. You can optionally mix in a cup of raw honey into this before storing OR choose to add it after. Add fire cider to jars with a tight fitting lid or flip cap bottles (what I use) and store until you use it.

The shelf life of this is indefinite and it does NOT need to be refrigerated. It’s VINEGAR. Store fire cider in glass jars or bottles in a dark place; direct sunlight isn’t good for tonics!

The remaining solids from the tonic can be pulverized in a food processor, dehydrated and used as a fire cider powder. I’ve seen people encapsulate them and take them. Or even use it as a seasoning rub. You can also compost it or throw it on your neighbor’s porch. Whatever floats ya boat.

To take:

Pour out a half shot glass full and add a glob of honey to it. I normally forego the honey and just get the assault over with. Knock it back quick and have a drink of water nearby. Some people might like this stuff but golly it’s not my favorite. The spicy flavor and the vinegar with all the citrus and onions is just…… bleck.

Homemade Fire Cider Tonic Recipe for Immune Health

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10

Infusing Time: 30

Total Time: 30 10

Servings: quarts

Author: Ruby – Red Feather Farm

Equipment

1 gallon glass jar
Nonreactive lid
Swing top jar

Ingredients

4 sliced oranges
2 sliced onions
5 sliced jalapenos
1 cup chopped ginger root
4 sliced lemons
10 + cloves of garlic peeled and smashed
4 Rosemary sprigs
4 Thyme sprigs
1 cup fresh oregano
1 cup chopped turmeric root
2 cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 quarts apple scrap vinegar or RAW apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Sanitize the mason jar and lid.
Layer in all ingredients except the vinegar. Mix them up or just toss them in in layers. If you're doing smaller jars, equally distribute the ingredients between the jars. Do not overfill the jar. Make sure all the ingredients stay below 1 1/2 inch headspace.
Pour apple cider vinegar until all ingredients are completely submerged and covered.
Add a nonreactive lid and put in a cool dark place for 1 month. During this time, shake the jar as you think of it, daily is best, but I'm not about that life.
Strain through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer. You can optionally mix in a cup of raw honey into this before storing OR choose to add it after. Add fire cider to jars with a tight fitting lid or flip cap bottles (what I use) and store until you use it.
The shelf life of this is indefinite and it does NOT need to be refrigerated. It's VINEGAR. Store fire cider in glass jars or bottles in a dark place; direct sunlight isn't good for tonics!

To Use

Pour out a half shot glass full and add a glob of honey to it. I normally forego the honey and just get the assault over with. Knock it back quick and have a drink of water nearby.