Fire Cider

Living Awareness Institute – Kami McBride Herbalist

Adapted by Kim Glazzard

FIRE CIDER

1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic

1 tablespoon fresh grated horseradish

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger root

1 chopped white onion

1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder

2 cups apple cider vinegar (I use Braggs Raw Apple Cider Vinegar)

Steep herbs in the vinegar for four weeks. Then, using a piece of cotton muslin (or other material, but avoid metal as may react and reduce potency), strain herbs from the vinegar and discard. Add 1/2 cup honey to the vinegar (optional – I like the taste without it, also 1 Tbsp. turmeric could be added). Take one teaspoon to one tablespoon (use plastic, wood, or other non-metal spoon) three times a day at the onset of cold symptoms. (I often take 1-3 teaspoons at a time as that settles with my stomach better.) If you are really sick you may want to take it more than three times a day. Stores well in the refrigerator for about one year. (For a larger group - or to share with friends - a person could do eight recipes of the above, maybe in two batches or so.) (Note: Notes in parentheses above are from Kim and are not part of the original recipe.)

Kim’s Notes: Fire Cider stores very well, and when you need it, you need it. It is best to make it ahead of time and have it on hand at all times. I generally use the fire cider without the honey, so that is also an option, although some people might prefer the sweeter taste. If the cider is needed before the four week steeping/infusion period is over, it can be used earlier however the potency won’t be quite as strong, so it may be better to take more than the 1 Tbsp. (or 1 tsp. if you are used to that) at a time for the same benefit of a stronger concoction. (Note: I have used the fire cider prior to the four weeks, and it has worked fine for me.) If you need the fire cider right away and can’t wait the four weeks, another approach is to immediately blend everything in a blender and then either strain out the herbs right then or leave the herbs in the majority of the mixture and only strain them out for the part you are using at the time. This will allow you to have the fire cider available for use right away, while leaving the rest of it to infuse for as much of the four weeks as possible thus ensuring maximum effectiveness of the fire cider. Also, while the blending is an option and one I have tried, I do notice a difference, and feel that leaving the herbs to steep for the four weeks (as in the original recipe) gives the fire cider more body and stronger potency, as well as a deeper fuller variety of constituents available for the healing. However, if there is urgency in need and not the time to wait, the other method is a good backup plan.

Having used the fire cider a lot I have found that any time I begin to feel sick, whether it be with the flu, stomach problems, sore throat, sinus issues, or other symptoms, etc., prompt use of the fire cider is amazing and often nips the symptoms in the bud. Fire cider can be used when a person is already sick, but it is most effective – like all herbs and medicine - when use is started as soon as a person begins to feel symptoms. In other words the sooner the better! Also, it is best taken throughout the day, not just once a day. The reasoning for these last two suggestions is that bacteria in the body multiplies rapidly and can reproduce itself every 20 minutes or so, so the sooner fire cider is taken the quicker the bacteria will be stopped and the less bacteria the person will be dealing with. Also, the reason to take the herbs more than once a day is that herbs, unlike some drugs which are time-released, etc., only stay in the body for approximately four – five hours or so, and need to be taken throughout the day to keep their presence active and working. I hope this helps. Please ask if there are any questions. Also, just a note that Kami McBride is one of the herb teachers that I studied with for quite a while.