Autumn is a great time of year to start a batch of traditional fire cider, pungent and spicy blend of apple cider vinegar and immune-boosting and anti-inflammatory herbs.
It makes a great herbal decongestant and general tonic. But, what if you are congested right now and can’t wait two weeks? Try this recipe for “instant” fire cider.
This remedy can be made at home, right now, with very inexpensive ingredients. You probably already have some, if not all, ingredients in your kitchen. It’s filled with decongesting, anti-inflammatory, and immune boosting ingredients. The effectiveness of this combination will amaze you.
Here’s the recipe (makes 8 oz):
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup raw apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup lemon juice or the juice of 2 lemons
- 1 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- Pinch of cracked black pepper
- 1/3 cup of raw honey (Buy locally, or you can buy it here.)
Directions
- Add lemon juice, vinegar, and spices to your jar
- Add honey to bring up to 8 ounces
- all ingredients in a small jar (like a mason jar or hex jar)
- Shake well to mix
- Store in the refrigerator
It can last several weeks in the refrigerator, but you will likely use it all up over the duration of your cold. Shake before each use, as the ground spices settle.
If you can’t find raw apple cider vinegar at your grocery store, you can buy it. Fresh lemons are best, but this shelf stable lemon juice is a great pantry/food storage item.
When severely congested, take 1 teaspoon every 15 minutes for an hour then switch to every 30 minutes, then once an hour. The heat from the cayenne opens the sinuses, and reduces sinus inflammation. Ginger is also a wonderful anti-inflammatory. The lemon juice provides lots of Vitamin C. There isn’t an illness that turmeric doesn’t help in some way. The black pepper is here as a synergist (increase absorption). And both honey and apple cider vinegar are well known for their healing properties (plus they taste really good together). Keep doing this until you go to sleep.
Enjoy!