Fire Cider Recipe: How to Make Fire Cider for Immune Health

Last Updated on September 26, 2023

There’s something wickedly beautiful and healthy brewing in the kitchen: Fire Cider! Herbalists and those who embrace natural medicine call upon this spicy, spunky, tangy herbal remedy to stay healthy during the winter and cold season. With the all-star combination of foods and herbs used in this fire cider recipe, it is recognized to either prevent or notably shorten the duration of cold and flu symptoms. This article will show you the easy step-by-step process how to make your own fire cider at home.

These days, we like to have fire cider on hand to help us stay healthy year round. If you have kiddos (ahem, germ factories…) around, you probably need all the extra support you can get! Yet unless they’re super adventurous, kids probably won’t enjoy fire cider straight like we do. Instead, you could dilute it in some water or juice for them. Another great kid-friendly, immunity-boosting, cold-fighting herbal remedy you can make at home is elderberry syrup! Check out our elderberry syrup recipe here.

A note on timing

Keep in mind that homemade fire cider must infuse for almost a month before it’s ready to use. If you need immune support ASAP, consider buying some organic fire cider from a small business in the meantime. My friend Sarah with TC Elderberry makes amazing small batch organic fire cider! Use code “deannacat” to save 15% on fire cider (or her delicious elderberry syrup offerings) here.

Now if you’re a bit of a plant nerd like me and want to hear how and why fire cider is so good for you, keep reading along… Otherwise jump straight to the recipe here.

Why is fire cider good for you? What does it help with?

Fire cider is an herbal remedy made by infusing numerous healing plant ingredients in raw apple cider vinegar, also referred to as “ACV”. Each ingredient in this homemade fire cider recipe offers it’s own unique and potent natural health benefits to fight cold and flu bugs, as explained below.

When combined, fire cider ingredients come together to create powerful immune-boosting, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, decongestant, circulation and digestion system boosting concentrated herbal tonic.

Homemade fire cider can help to open airways, ease congestion, loosen mucus, soothe sore throats, calm coughs, flush and detox your system, and generally encourage your body to resist and fight off flu and cold bugs more quickly. Can I get a heck yes for healing plants?

Traditional fire cider ingredients and health benefits

Renown herbalist Rosemary Gladstar uses just seven key ingredients in her traditional Fire Cider recipe – garlic, onion, horseradish, ginger, cayenne, honey, and ACV – which featured in her book “Medicinal Herb’s, a Beginner’s Guide”. These seven things are essential in this healing tonic, however, you can get creative and add all kinds of other beneficial and tasty additions as well! As I always suggest for ferments and infusions, try to use all organic ingredients to make fire cider. Raw is also best.

1. GARLIC. A very medicinal herb, known to support the immune system. Garlic stimulates the production of white blood cells in your body, who fight against invaders like harmful bacteria and viruses. The sulfur compounds in garlic also increases blood flow and circulation. Raw garlic is especially beneficial as it contains the highest levels of allicin, an immune-stimulating compound.
   
   
2. ONION. Similar to garlic, onion contains allicin to supports the immune system and circulation. Onion is also high in quercetin, a plant pigment often used for allergy symptom relief as it can reduce histamine response and inflammation. A University of Michigan study described quercetin as a “promising treatment for the common cold”, exploring its antioxidant and therapeutic properties, such as the ability to reduce viral replication and lung inflammation.
   
   
3. FRESH HORSERADISH ROOT*. This pungent root vegetable, part of the mustard/brassica family, uses its heat to increase blood flow, body temperature, and digestion to flush out cold and flu bugs via increased sweat and urination. It also has antibacterial properties to fight sinus infections, and can help stimulate your lungs to assist with coughing and keeping your chest loose and “productive”.
   
   
4. GINGER. Rosemary Gladstar describes ginger as “wonderfully warming and decongesting”. Enzymes present in ginger reduce inflammation, is used to ease nausea and stomach aches, activates your immune system, and soothes sore throats. Fresh is best!
   
   
5. APPLE CIDER VINEGAR (raw, with the mother). Apple cider vinegar is full of probiotics that support gut health, which is directly correlated with whole-body wellness. Its active ingredient, acetic acid, a known antioxidant. It can help reduce blood sugar spikes and blood pressure, has anti-carcinogenic properties, and boosts the immune systems in those who regularly consume it. Learn how to make your own apple cider vinegar here.
   
   
6. CAYENNE PEPPERS or other hot peppers. Capsaicin is a compound in chili peppers that makes them hot and spicy. Yet capsaicin also stirs up your circulation system, warms your body, and serves as a decongestant, expectorant, and pain reliever all at once. Chili peppers are also high in vitamin C and A – good friends to have around when you’re sick.
   
   
7. RAW HONEY. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down! Honey is added after the infusion and separation process described below. It does help bring balance to make this spicy fire cider recipe more palatable, but that’s not all! Honey coats and soothes sore throats. Consuming local raw honey (highly suggested) may also reduce allergies by exposing you to local pollens. It is like a natural immunization – stimulating then reducing your reactive responses.

*Please note: It is recommended to avoid the consumption of horseradish if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Omit as needed. In general, this homemade fire cider recipe is pretty darn flexible! Use what you can.

Optional fire cider ingredients

Many herbalists stick with just the 7 traditional fire cider ingredients listed above, but other folks get creative and include all sorts of optional good-for-you plants to make an even more potent brew. For instance, rose hips, cinnamon sticks, dried elderberries*, and pomegranate (crushed kernels or juice) are beautiful nutrient-rich additions to fire cider. I have even heard of people adding sprigs of cedar and pine for a super earthy, woodsy vibe. Feel free to get creative with what you have available to you locally and seasonally.

*Fresh elderberries can be toxic when consumed raw, so they must be dried or cooked first.

We included the following optional additions in our fire cider recipe:

• Citrus, for an extra boost of vitamin C!
• Fresh turmeric, for extra antioxidants and inflammation-fighting. If you can’t get fresh rhizomes, you can substitute with turmeric powder, though in my experience it doesn’t mix as well and can make for a more chalky end-product.
• A couple sprigs of fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, or homegrown lemongrass.
• Fresh hot chilis, to keep your blood moving and sinuses open!
• Black peppercorns. This is especially important when using turmeric, as it vastly increases the activity and bio-availability of turmeric’s healing active ingredient – curcumin.
• Dried homegrown calendula flowers, for an extra kick of anti-inflammatory and fever-reducing action. Read how to grow, harvest, dry, and use calendula here.

FIRE CIDER RECIPE

Note that most homemade fire cider recipes online are per quart jar, so this is what I am sharing below. However, we scaled up (times four) to fill two half-gallon jars as shown. We figure that given the effort to make it, how long it needs to steep, and how quickly we can go through it, it makes most sense (for us) to make a large batch of fire cider at once.

Per Quart Jar:

• 1 medium onion, diced (we prefer sweet yellow or white)
• 4 to 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 to 4 tbsp fresh horseradish root, grated or chopped
• 3 to 4 tbsp fresh ginger root, grated or chopped
• Raw unpasteurized Apple Cider Vinegar – Enough to fill the jar & submerge the other ingredients. We usually need almost a full 32 oz bottle of AVC per half-gallon jar of fire cider (so 16 ounces per quart).
• Raw honey, local if possible – added later, see the instructions below. For strict vegans who avoid honey, you can either brave it and go sans-sweetener, or use a natural plant-based replacement like maple or agave syrup.
• Cayenne powder or chili powder, also added later

Optional:

• 3 to 4 tablespoons fresh grated turmeric rhizome (substitute equivalent in teaspoons if using dried turmeric powder)
• 1 lemon and/or orange, per quart. In this batch, we used 2 lemons, 1 orange, and 1/2 a grapefruit per half gallon. You can juice and zest them, or just slice and throw in whole. We did the latter, but removed the grapefruit rind to save space in the container. Grapefruit rinds can also be extra bitter, so keep that in mind.
• Fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano or lemongrass, to taste preference – a few sprigs per jar is good!
• Hot chilis – at least one per jar, scaling up for larger batches or for a heat-loving taste preference.
• Black pepper. A pinch of peppercorns or few dashes of ground pepper to each jar.

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Chop All Ingredients

Chop, grate, or otherwise prep the ingredients as described above. The smaller the pieces, the better it will all infuse. Using a food processor makes it extra fast and easy to prep and make fire cider! We usually cut the citrus into large slices, leave sprigs of fresh herbs whole, and use a food processor for almost everything else.

Note: You may want to open a window while you make fire cider. Fresh horseradish root is super pungent and can sting you eyes and throat. I also recommend to use caution and wear gloves when working with fresh hot chili peppers.

Step 2: Fill the Jar

Add all of the prepped fire cider ingredients into you choice size of mason jar, or flip-top glass container, which should be about two-thirds to three-quarters full of the prepared ingredients when done. We love Ball half-gallon jars, which we use just about constantly for infusions, ferments, and other homestead kitchen adventures! Resist the urge to overfill the container though. The more full it is, the less room there is for liquid, and thus less volume of homemade fire cider at the end.

Step 3: Add Apple Cider Vinegar

Slowly pour the apple cider vinegar over everything, lightly knocking out air bubbles as needed, until the container is full.

Step 4: Cover

Cover the jars of fire cider with either BPA-free plastic mason jar lids, high-quality food grade stainless steel lids that will not rust. If using a standard mason jar lid, add a piece of waxed parchment paper on top before putting the lid on. This is so the acidic nature of the vinegar won’t corrode the metal lid.  

Step 5: Infuse and Shake

While infusing, store fire cider at room temperature and somewhere you’ll see it and remember to shake it daily. I have read varying instructions on whether to store the steeping fire cider in a dark place or not, but Ms. Gladstar says even a warm sunny kitchen window will work, so I don’t think it matters which. We often leave it on the kitchen counter so we’ll see it.

Try to gently shake the jars of fire cider well every day or so, particularly for the first several days. This will help to not only increase the steeping action, causing the beneficial properties of each ingredient to infuse into the ACV even more, but also to help prevent mold growth by keeping the contents submerged and moving. Allowing the same ingredients float on top (exposed to air) for many days without mixing increases the chance of mold.

Do you need to burp fire cider?

No, you don’t need to worry about burping fire cider as it steeps. Since there is no fermentation taking place, making homemade fire cider does not generate any gas to release from the jar.

Step 6: Strain

After a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks (some herbalists steep their fire cider for many months!), it is time to separate and strain the liquid. We use a fine mesh stainless steel strainer (or a typical strainer lined with cheesecloth would work too) poised over a large empty vessel below.  

If you’re making a quart batch of fire cider, you can likely dump all of its contents into the strainer at once. Since we make very large batches, we need to add little-by-little to the strainer since not all of the solid bits will fit at once. To help drain and extract all the healing liquids from them as possible, I hand-squeezed and pressed the solids in each batch as I went, as shown below.

Step 7: Add Honey

Honey is traditionally added to fire cider “to taste”.  Using local honey also provides added allergy immunity and desensitization properties. If you are a strict vegan and do not want to use honey, you could substitute with a natural sweetener like agave syrup, or just be a badass and consume your fire cider sans sweetener!  

For our taste buds, we add about 1/4 cup of honey per half-gallon jars of fire cider – or just a couple tablespoons if you made a quart jar batch. To help mix in the honey, we soak the jar of honey in warm water to lightly heat it, and then use a whisk to rapidly stir it into the strained fire cider. Overheating raw honey can destroy some of its healing properties!

Step 8: Add Cayenne

Add and thoroughly mix cayenne pepper powder or chili powder, again “to taste”. If your original concoction included hot chili peppers, your fire cider may already be spicy enough for your liking! Ms. Gladstar doesn’t add peppers to her initial fire cider infusion, and instead only adds cayenne powder at the end. Even when we use fresh peppers, we usually add a pinch of homegrown chili powder to the mix too. I don’t usually love spicy hot things, but I know a little heat is welcome and beneficial in this case!

Step 9: Bottle

Using a funnel, bottle your finished homemade fire cider! You could save and reuse the bottles from the original apple cider vinegar, use other miscellaneous bottles or jars, or store it in fun swing-top bottles like ours. Now your homemade fire cider is ready to enjoy.

How to store fire cider + shelf life

Store finished bottles of fire cider in a refrigerator or other cold dark place like a root cellar, if you’re so lucky to have one. Fire cider should “stay good” and last well up to a year or longer, if you don’t drink it all by then that is! As long as it is doesn’t develop mold or a sudden change in flavor or odor, it’s still good. I’ve heard of folks drinking fire cider several years after making it. It is almost all vinegar, after all!

When and how often should I take fire cider? How much should I take?

It is recommended to take 1 to 2 tablespoons of fire cider per day throughout the fall and winter as a preventative measure. When you feel like you’re coming down with something, take a little shot a few times per day as needed. (Like other types of “shots”, it’s usually nice to have a chaser nearby when you take fire cider!)

You can also use fire cider as a zesty salad dressing, or added into other beverages. Remember to shake the bottle before pouring to ensure you’re getting all the good stuff that may have settled.

What to do with leftover fire cider pulp after straining

The leftover now-pickled garlic, ginger, onion, and other herb bits need not go to waste! Some folks suggest using fire cider pulp on top of salads or in stir fry. A friend of mine dehydrates and grinds it all into a powder, puts the powder into capsules, and takes them as immunity supplements. Her family didn’t like drinking the fire cider as much as she did, so this was her solution to have them reap some of the benefits also. With ours, I picked through to remove and discard the citrus peels, and kept the rest in a bowl in the fridge. We added a couple spoonfuls to meals like sautéed veggies and black beans, and it was great!

Cheers to good health!

Do you make your own fire cider? What other fun and unique ingredients do you add to your brews? Comment below. Please feel free to ask questions, or to share this post! Thank you so much for tuning in today.

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