Happy Fire Cider Day to you all! We decided today would be the perfect day to share our love for this powerhouse tonic and celebrate the victory of 3 courageous herbalists that freed the trademark Fire Cider for all herbalists to enjoy! You May or may not know that Rosemary Gladstar (the godfairy mother of herbalism) reconnected this recipe for the public and its healing properties in early 1980’s yet in 2012 a new company Shire City Herbal’s came to fruition and pirate trademarked the name “Fire Cider”. Not only did this affect all herbalists who freely called this traditional immune boosting tonic Fire Cider but Shire City personally went after small business herbalists and demand they change their name or be fined.
One of the most precious reasons I love herbalism is because it’s the medicine of the people. We all share recipes and special little secrets with each other — we do not witch hunt our community and try to make money off of a widely used term for an ancient remedy. Well little did Shire City know — they tried to pull this off with 3 bad mamajamas! And they stood up to Shire City for several years in court and WON! Just this past September FIRE CIDER is free to use. This was a true celebration for us herbalists and a reminder that no matter how small — your voice can make a difference! So back to the magic of Fire Cider. It was first concocted in the kitchen at the California School of Herbal Studies in the early 1980’s by Rosemary Gladstar. Her Intent was to teach her students how to make herbal preparations that were as much food as they were medicines. Fire Cider is said to invigorate and restore your body with energy and wards off symptoms of the common cold and flu. We’ve listed some of our favorite medicinal foods for the body and why we include them in our recipe.
GINGER: A warming herb with a fiery nature. Ginger can induce sweating allowing the body to cool an overheated or feverish body by relaxing the muscles and stimulating circulation. Ginger also have Antimicrobial properties and the ability to thin mucous making it an effective ally for supporting those fighting bronchial congestio. Ginger‘s volatile oils stimulate the immune system to fight bacterial and viral infections and prevents viruses from attacking the cell walls.
GARLIC: An excellent remedy for the first stages of a cold or flu. The volatile oils in garlic are excreted through the lungs. The anti microbial nature of these oils makes it particularly helpful in the case of respiratory infections like bronchitis, excess mucous, colds, flu, and whooping cough. It is an expectorant, helping the body to thin and efficiently remove phlegm that is clogging airways. When the cloves are crushed and exposed to oxygen an enzyme is converted from Allin to Allicin. Allicin is what gives Garlic all its medicinal properties.
ELDERBERRY: An exceptional ally during cold and flu season due to its diaphoretic and antiviral actions. Effective for coughs and congestion associated with lower respiratory viral infection, promoting expectoration of music associated with bronchial infections.
RED ONION: Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a process that leads to cellular damage and contributes to diseases like cancer and heart disease.Onions are an excellent source of antioxidants. In fact, they contain over 25 different varieties of flavonoid antioxidant. Red onions, in particular, contain anthocyanins — special plant pigments in the flavonoid family that give red onions their deep color. Onions also contain the compound Quercetin which seems to be a particularly powerful way to fight bacteria.
TURMERIC: The primary active component of turmeric and the one that gives the spice its characteristic yellow color is curcumin. In fact, you can credit curcumin as the compound responsible for most of turmeric’s anti-inflammatory health benefits. Curcumin in particular is able to scavenge different types of free radicals, and control enzymes that neutralize free radicals. Which in turn gives an added boost to the immune system.
Here Is the recipes for this Immune Boosting Tonic, so you can make your very own!
FIRE CIDER
1 medium Red Onion
1 bulb of Garlic
3 fresh pieces of Turmeric
1 Inch long piece of ginger
1 cup Elderberries 1 hot pepper (optional)
3 Lemons
2 Limes
1 Gallon Mason Jar
Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
HOW TO:
1) Cut the Onion, Garlic, Turmeric, Hot Pepper and Peeled Ginger into small pieces. 2) Wash and Slice Lemons and Limes.
3) Add cut vegetables, citrus and Elderberrys to clean Mason Jar.
4) Pour in Apple Cider Vinegar until everything is fully submerged.
5) Keep closed, away from sunlight at room temperature for 4 weeks.
6) After 4 weeks strain & keep the liquid.
7) You may sweeten to liquid by adding Raw Honey if you like!
*Pro tip: Use the left over plant material to stuff a chicken! Thank us later.
Happy Creating!
