Fire Cider Recipe
Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) with “Mother”
Dried Cayenne Pepper - great way to preserve summer heat.
End of summer and early fall is the season for harvesting hawthorn haws. Vancouver Island has an abundance of hawthorn.
Horsetail comes up in the spring along the same time as miner’s lettuce and purple dead nettle, all are abundant herbs in the spring.
Traditionally fire cider is made in the fall and early winter to help keep immune systems and vibrancy up during the cold winter months. It is made with ACV and ginger, garlic, horseradish and hot peppers. Additional herbs are added for desired affect or taste. Ginger and spices are really useful to stimulate the body and to get circulation moving and ACV has many health benefits.
In my recipe the desired effect is to get the body feeling warm, blood moving and provide support for achy joints that seem to be made worse in the cold wet weather. Myself at 35 years old, I am waking up with achy shoulders and have often had hip pain from years of soccer and running. Joint pain can be improved with intake of proper minerals, anti-inflammatory constituents and by promotion of blood flow to clear away build up and replace with oxygen and vital nutrients to areas like joints that may be lacking.
Recipe:
- ginger rhizome (fresh diced ½ cup)
- garlic (fresh diced ¼ cup)
- hawthorn berries (dried & ground 4 tbsp)
- cayenne peppers (whole dried gently chopped 3 tbsp)
- sarsaparilla root (dried 3 tbsp)
- horsetail (dried 3 tbsp)
- ACV (remainder to fill jar)
-Onion (chopped fresh into large pieces)
Let sit for 3-4 weeks and remember to shake daily.
The fire cider can be used as a vinegar base for making dressings, to flavour steamed veggies or rice, or taken in the morning with a small glass of water to stimulate the body and mirror the benefits of taking ACV this way.
*Remember to place a piece of wax paper on top of the jar if you are using a metal lid to prevent corrosion by the ACV on the metal.
Ingredients and their effects:
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) effectively stimulates peripheral circulation and supports the movement of other constituents when taken in combination. It is popular not only for its flavor and help for the digestive system (hello nausea), but also because its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.
Garlic (Allium sativum) supports the body in many ways due to its action as an antimicrobial against viruses, bacteria and parasites. It also has a range of effects on the cardiovascular system and helps to prevent the build up of plaques in arteries.
Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) is used for the circulatory system to support the heart but also supports the blood vessels and helps keep the whole system functioning optimally.
Cayenne (Capsicum annum) very powerful for systemic circulation to stimulate blood flow, strengthen the heart, arteries, capillaries and nerves. It can also be used in cases of insufficient peripheral circulation where there are cold hands, feet or joints. Topically it is also warming and blocks the transmission of pain and itching by blocking nerve fibers in the skin.
Sarsaparilla (Smilax sp.) is used for many rheumatic conditions and for scaly skin conditions such like those that the cold winter brings. It helps to cleanse the blood and remove build up in the body that might be affecting the joints. It contains constituents such as saponins and flavonoids.
Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) is used most commonly as treatment for the genitourinary system, it has also been found to ease the pain of rheumatism. It is also very high in minerals and flavonoids that support the musculoskeletal system. A few of the constituents in horsetail are such as alkaloids for pain, flavonoids for anti-inflammation, and silicic acid (silica).
You can certainly change the herbs that you use in your own recipe, this is just an example of some of the things you can add to the vinegar.
Once it is made the vinegar is great to use in dressings or as a warming tsp to take when feeling under the weather.
Sincerely,
Dr. Christina Weir, ND