As Autumn begins its time for warming up and bring heat into our lives- and there's no better way than Fire Cider! Today's Nettle Patch was hosted by Elizabeth London in Brooklyn. She lugged at least 15lbs of ginger, onions, garlic, horseradish and burdock root up her 4 flight walk up so that we could a few gallons of fire cider to keep us warm through the winter! Except for the addition of burdock roots and some powdered turmeric, we followed Rosemary Gladstar's famous recipe:
Fire Cider
- 1 part Garlic
- 1 part Horseradish
- 1 part Onions
- ½ part Fresh ginger
- Cayenne to taste (just a few grains will do)
- Honey to taste
- Apple Cider Vinegar.
Chop fresh garlic,
onions, and horseradish into small pieces. Grate fresh ginger. The
amounts and proportions vary according to your particular taste.. If
unsure, start with equal amounts of the first three ingredients and
roughly half part ginger the first time you make this; you can always
adjust the flavors in future batches. Chop enough of the first four
ingredients to fill a quart jar approximately half full. Put in wide
mouth quart jar and cover with Apple Cider vinegar (keep vinegar about
two to three inches above the herbs). Add cayenne to taste (just a small
amount or will be too hot!). Let sit two to three weeks. Strain and
discard spent herbs. Add honey to taste (add the honey after you strain
the rest of the herbs).
Fire Cider should
taste hot, spicy and sweet. Great as a winter time tonic and/or as a
remedy for colds and coughs. I loved to take little shot glasses as a
tonic and often people use it as salad dressing and/or on rice or
steamed vegetables. It’s quite tasty!
(source:http://www.sagemountain.com/rosemary-gladstar/winter-recipes.html)
Voila! And don't they look tastey. And here are some of the medicinal properties that make this brew so good for you:
Horseradish
~ The antibacterial properties of Horseradish have been used to fight
bacteria. Horseradish strongly stimulates the digestion, increasing
gastric secretions and appetite. It's also a good diuretic that promotes
perspiration, making it useful in fevers, colds, and flu. Horseradish
is also an expectorant and mildly antibiotic, and can be of use in both
respiratory and urinary tract infections.
Ginger ~ is
valued for its ability to warm the stomach, to ease vomiting &
nausea and to fight off colds, chills and coughs. Ginger is useful for
all types of congestion in the body.
Garlic ~
supports the immune function and opens the pores of the skin to lower a
fever. This herb's antibacterial and antimicrobial properties make it
useful in treating bladder and kidney infections , yeast infections , strep throats and ear infections.
Cayenne ~
is useful for increasing circulation and to get mucous flowing. This
herb is an anti-inflammatory and anti-irritant. It is used as a
digestive aid to stimulates gastric juices. Many people report relief
from migraines with this herb as well.
How to Use Your Fire Cider?
~ Rub into sore muscles and aching joints.
~ Soak a clean cloth in Fire Cider to place on a congested chest.
~ Drink it straight or diluted in a bit of water or tomato juice. Start out with a tsp or so to test your tolerance level. It can be hot!
~ Mix with a bit of honey to ease a cough.
Happy Fall Everyone!
