Fire cider is tangy, spicy, a little bossy, and completely wonderful. It’s the herbal remedy that makes you feel like you can do this, and it’s so easy it almost feels like cheating. This one is from the archives. Fire cider takes about six weeks to infuse, so if you want a jar ready for the worst of cold season, now is the time to start it. In this episode I walk you through my whole process: the foundational ingredients and what each one is doing in the jar, the easy add-ins (I put my whole elderberry syrup kit in mine), the parchment-paper trick that protects your lid, and how I take it every day without wrecking my teeth. I also tell you what I do when I can’t find fresh horseradish root here in Florida, and the half teaspoon that lit me right up the last time I was congested. And please don’t throw out the strained ingredients. There’s a whole second life for them, and I’ll tell you what it is. No measuring and no special equipment. Everything you need is at the grocery store. This episode is for education and encouragement, not medical advice. If you’re pregnant, nursing, on blood thinners or other medications, or caring for a little one, check with your healthcare provider first.
Episode Notes
- 00:00 — Why fire cider is easy, cheap, and very hard to mess up
- 00:55 — What fire cider actually is (and why it feels like cheating)
- 01:30 — Cheap, customizable, practically indestructible
- 02:20 — The foundational ingredients, and why it isn’t just chaos in a jar
- 02:55 — Onion, garlic, and hot pepper: what each one does in the jar
- 03:30 — Ginger, turmeric, and horseradish, the drama queen
- 04:15 — Can’t find horseradish root? What I buy instead
- 04:50 — The half teaspoon that cleared my sinuses
- 05:30 — Lemon and rosemary, two easy add-ins
- 06:00 — How to make it, no measuring required
- 06:50 — Filling the jar: citrus, apple, and my elderberry syrup kit
- 08:00 — Pouring the vinegar and getting the air pockets out
- 08:55 — The parchment trick that protects your lid
- 09:20 — Shake it daily, wait six weeks, strain
- 10:50 — How I take it every day (and protect my teeth)
- 11:20 — Salad dressing, marinades, and spicy chamomile tea
- 12:20 — Feeling sick at Homesteaders of America, and the vendors who helped
- 13:30 — Self, family, community: once you learn a skill, it’s yours
- 14:30 — Don’t toss the leftovers: chutney, powders, chickens, compost
- 15:40 — Freeze-dried and dried ingredients work too
- 16:50 — All you need is a jar and the willingness to try
A few things worth writing down
- Start with the base, then make it your own. Onion, garlic, hot pepper, ginger, turmeric, and horseradish go in first. Citrus, apple, berries, rosemary, and elderberries are optional add-ins.
- Wash everything, chop it up, and fill a quart jar about three-quarters full. Pour in raw apple cider vinegar (with the mother) all the way to the top, and poke out the air pockets with a wooden or bamboo stick.
- Put parchment paper between the jar and a metal lid so the vinegar doesn’t eat at the metal. Label it with the date.
- Shake it once a day for about six weeks, topping it off with vinegar in the first few days if dried ingredients soak some up. Then strain it and sweeten with honey if you like. Honey isn’t safe for babies under one year old.
- A tablespoon in a glass of water is a simple daily habit. Sip it through a straw or rinse with plain water afterward to protect your tooth enamel.
- The strained ingredients aren’t trash. Use them in chutney, dehydrate and powder them, add them to soups and stir-fries, or give them to the chickens or the compost.
Links
Mentioned in this episode
- Homesteaders of America and their annual conference — https://homesteadersofamerica.com/homesteaders-of-america-conference/
Storing infused vinegars safely
- Clemson Home & Garden Information Center, Flavored Vinegars — https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/flavored-vinegars/
- National Center for Home Food Preservation — https://nchfp.uga.edu/
Find me
- Website — https://joyfullyprepared.com/
- All episodes — https://joyfullyprepared.com/podcast/
- Joyfully Prepared Library — https://learn.joyfullyprepared.com/library
- Free Facebook group — https://www.facebook.com/groups/joyfulprep
- Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/joyfulprepper/
- Send me a message — https://joyfullyprepared.com/contact-me/
- Looking for homestead property in Central Florida? — https://joyfullyprepared.com/realestate/
Come find me
Make a jar this week. Then take a picture and tag me on Instagram at @joyfulprepper. I want to see your best spicy chaos in a jar, and I want to know what you put in yours.
And think of the friend who catches every cold that goes around, or the one who keeps saying she’d like to learn herbal remedies but doesn’t know where to start. Send her this episode. She only needs a jar.
If you want more, the Joyfully Prepared Library has videos on canning, herbal remedies, and a lot more.
Stay joyful, stay prepared, and maybe keep a little garlic on hand just in case.