This an old wise woman remedy that has been around for many, many, many decades although recently some company trade marked the name & laid claims to it.  Don’t be fooled though.  Rosemary Gladstar published the recipe & named it Fire Cider back in the 80’s in her book, Family Herbal which is now titled, Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health. This is Sacred Moons best selling book almost for 6 years straight.  It was my very first herbal “recipe” book. If you don’t have it yet, swing by Moon & pick up a copy.  You’ll treasure it for the rest of your life.  We love this book & we love Rosemary & all she’s done for the herbal communities all over the planet.

(To educate yourself on the Fire Cider issue: visit http://freefirecider.com. To educate yourself on Rosemary visit www.sagemountainherbs.com)

Literally thousands of folks have made Fire Cider over the decades all over the world & rarely are two recipes alike. Sometimes you use whatever you have in your kitchen at the time which is considered “folk medicine”. Think of how your Grandma or maybe Great Gram cooked & healed your family…with plants such as garlic & ginger maybe peppers. Food is Your Medicine & so it is true with Fire Cider.  We’ll be sharing Rosemary’s recipe with you and another different recipe by a well loved Herbalist in Asheville, NC, Juliet Blankespoor founder of the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine. Fire Cider is super easy to make.  Or if you rather buy it made, we carry one made by an old friend in New Mexico.  She’s been making & selling this for about 20 years now. In fact the first time I ever had Fire Cider was in herb school almost 20 years ago in Tempe, Arizona. At the time, we had a wonderful Co-Op called Gentle Strength.  They sold Monica’s Fire Cider & as new herbies, our entire class fell in love with her magickal potion.  It’s still the best tasting Fire Cider I’ve ever had…including the batches I’ve made myself.  I guess after you’ve made hundreds & hundreds of gallons of the same formula for a few decades, it becomes an art.  She grows all her own organic peppers she makes the cider with too.  That adds a bit of extra love too when you can grow your own medicines!  So give these recipes a try in your kitchen or drop by Moon & pick up a 4 oz or 8 oz bottle of yumminess.

1 part horseradish

1 part garlic

1 part onion

1/2 ginger

1/4 tsp of cayenne or less

Apple Cider Vinegar

Honey to taste

• 64 ounces of apple cider vinegar
• 10 ounces honey
• 2 medium onions
• 2 large garlic bulbs
• Fresh Ginger  (10″ of a man’s-thumb-width piece)
• Fresh Turmeric (10″ of a man’s-thumb-width piece, or 3 Tablespoons powder)
• Horseradish (1.5 cups of coarsely chopped 1″ pieces)
• 2 large pomegranates (plump, succulent, and garnet in color)
• 2 oranges
• 8 dried cayenne peppers (or 2 teaspoons dried cayenne powder)
• 4 Tablespoons dried, loose hibiscus

1. Peel the garlic, and coarsely chop the onions, horseradish, and turmeric. Place them in a food processor or blender, along with the cayenne peppers, with enough apple cider vinegar to cover. Blend carefully with the lid on, and take care not to let fumes or slurry enter your eyes.
2. Place the slurried spiciness in a double boiler. Don’t have one? Nest a smaller pot in a bigger pot or saucepan and use a couple of upside-down mason jar rings to keep the inside pot up off the outside one. Add a little water to the outside pot and voila – double boiler! Add the rest of the apple cider vinegar to the slurry and keep the heat on low, with the lid on! Let the mixture heat on low (don’t let it get above 120 degrees) for three hours, stirring once in a while. Again, careful with the fumes!!!!
3. Meanwhile, back at the bat cave, peel your oranges and de-seed the pomegranates, sneaking off a nibble or two. Put on an old apron and mash the pomegranates and oranges with a potato masher in the sink.
4. After a couple hours, taste the slurry. If it’s too mild for your fire cider pleasure, this is your chance to add more of the spicy herbs and cook for one more hour. After three hours of total cook time, turn off the heat and add the hibiscus and the juicy pomegranate/orange mixture. Let sit for one hour and check the color- if it’s too light in color add more hibiscus. When the cider is a beautiful red, strain the mixture through a cheesecloth or potato ricer. You will need to squeeze out or press the slurry, or you will loose a great deal of the medicine. Add the honey and mix well, making sure all the honey is dissolved. Place in clear glass jars, label and refrigerate. Dosage is one teaspoon as needed.