I first tried Fire Cider when Candace and I were in Las Vegas wandering around Whole Foods (arguably the best and worst place to pass some time). We stumbled upon this fire cider tonic from Temple Turmeric. Candace mentioned she picked some up in Miami a few weeks prior when she felt a cold coming on and said it was a game changer. I wasn’t feeling sick or anything but the flavors - horseradish, ginger, lemon and habanero, just to name a few, are right up my ally. So sick or not, one went right into my basket without second guessing. From the first sip I was hooked; it had a unique balance of tang, fire, and sweetness from the citrus - the flavors were an unusual combination but un-flipping-real. I immediately went back for a second sip and slipped it in my bag before jetting off to the airport where TSA would later make me throw it out (oops - you’d think I’d have this whole rules of traveling thing down by now, haha).
I was so angry at myself for forgetting to finish it off (that stuff isn’t exactly cheap, ya know). During the entire flight back to Colorado I was planning my trip to the grocery store bright and early the next day so I could stock up. I literally searched every grocery store and health food spot high and low and couldn’t for the life of me find this Pure Fire Tonic anywhere - let alone anything that even came close to it. So as expected, I got to researching how I could make my own at home and came across some interesting stuff!
Fire Cider Tonic Benefits
I learned that Fire Cider is commonly used and originated in New England in 2011 - Massachusetts to be exact. Founder Dana St. Pierre had been making variations of this tonic since the late 90’s when his doctor told him to drink apple cider vinegar mixed with grated horseradish root to combat severe bronchitis and seasonal allergies. New England has a long history of combining honey and apple cider vinegar as a natural cure-all so when they moved back to the area in 2009, his wife decided to play around with the original recipe mostly as a result of them getting sick every six weeks. They really liked what they had come up with and decided to start selling it at local farmers markets and it just took off from there.
I found a few different recipes online so I just took what I liked from each recipe and created a tonic of my own, so feel free to get creative with yours too.
What I used:
- ½ cup peeled and diced ginger root
- ½ cup peeled and diced horseradish root
- ½ cup peeled and diced turmeric
- ½ cup chopped/diced onion
- ¼ cup chopped/crushed garlic
- 1 organic habanero pepper - seeded and sliced
- 1 organic jalapeno pepper - sliced
- Organic lemon juice - about ¼ cup
- Raw apple cider vinegar
- 2 orange slices
- Crushed black pepper - about ½ teaspoon
- Pink himalayan sea salt - about ¼ tablespoon
- Fresh sprigs of Thyme and Rosemary
Add the ginger, horseradish, onion, garlic, jalapeno and habanero to your jar. Pack everything down lightly and add the slices of orange, thyme and rosemary. Be sure to place the heavier/dense ingredients towards the top so that the lighter things like peppers and onions stay secured and don’t float during fermentation. You want to be sure the jar is about ¾ full before topping it off with apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, salt & pepper. Place the mixture in a dark room for about a month for best results - but after about 2 weeks it should be good to go.
Once it’s ready to go, shake well and strain - place the tonic in the refrigerator and feel free to add natural sweetener like local honey or agave. I’ve been taking 2 tablespoons each morning before a cup of ginger lemon tea for the past two weeks and I feel great, have noticed increased energy, my skin is starting to get that "glow" and I haven't experienced any typical allergy symptoms (and the pollen in Colorado is crazy right now)
If you’re not the type to ‘shoot em’ back’, there are lots of other ways to take fire cider. Just to name a few:
- Warm some up with hot water and drink as a tea
- Mix some in freshly pressed orange juice or lemonade
- Use as a salad dressing (so yum!)
- Use as a marinade for meat or veggies
I'd love to hear from you guys - would you give Fire Cider Tonic a try? Do the flavors sound appealing to you? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!