As I began to delve into the world of fermenting for making hot sauces and other recipes from my garden grown fruits and vegetables, I inevitably came across “Fire Cider”. If you haven’t heard of Fire Cider, it is basically a very tangy tonic of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar infused with healthy root vegetables and other natural ingredients. For example, we’ve found that onions sometimes cause Patty some digestive discomfort, so we’ve omitted them from our recipe. We became interested in Fire Cider tonic because Patty had developed some stomach ailments related to digestive problems and we were looking for something more natural to help her. It is typically made with raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar containing “The Mother”, which is a collection of proteins and friendly bacteria that assists with digestion. The vineger is infused with onion, ginger, horseradish, peppers, garlic and fruits, though you’ll find that some recipes vary in the specific ingredients and ratios. Let’s discuss how to make fire cider! Boom! Done! Your fire cider is ready to serve. It is quite easy to make, and ready to help you stay healthy. Everything gets chopped or diced, then set into a couple of large sealable jars. As mentioned, ingredients can vary, as long as they are healthy and natural, such as fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. With fire cider, you have a natural drink that helps boost the immune system during cold and flu season. You can easily adjust the sweet-sour balance - just add honey as desired. We used a bit of fermented habanero pepper mash with our recipe, though fresh chili peppers are more traditional. It provides a boost to your immune system and has anti-viral and anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory qualities. It can also ease congestion and assist with digestion. If you feel it will be too spicy, you can easily cut back on or omit the peppers, though I would encourage you to keep them for the great Health Benefits of Chili Peppers. You can also incorporate it into other foods and drinks, like tea or with your salad dressing. We were looking for the additional health benefit of the fermented mash. See How to Make Fermented Pepper Mash for more information on that. I hope you enjoy your homemade fire cider, my friends! Shoot over your questions. We’re happy to discuss. There are a few products available on the market, and WOW were they pricey. We can make a large batch at home for a fraction of the cost of store bought fire cider, and we can make it as hot as we want it. Keep it on hand as a natural health and immunity booster. Take a tablespoon or two per day, or a tangy shot whenever you’re in the mood. If you feel your fire cider is too tart, swirl in a bit of honey to sweeten it up. If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations. Thanks! – Mike H. Consider the world of herbs available to you, other spice powders, berries, fruits, and of course, the entire world of chili pepper types out there. I keep ours in the fridge where it will last almost indefinitely, though it really only lasts a few months TOPS for me. Now I have little to no symptoms and have been able to cut back on other pills I was taking. It’s a big relief. Highly recommended. We plan to keep experimenting mainly with flavors. I even took it with us on vacation, it’s that good for me." NOTE: This recipe was updated on 12/5/22 to include new information. It was originally published on 2/7/18.
