Do it yourself Fire Cider Tonic ingredient list and 4 methods of making Fire Cider home remedies. First, What is a Tonic? A Tonic in herbal medicine is a remedy to restore function, promote vigor and a sense of well being. A Tonic can be in the form of a herb tea, tincture, or herbal vinegar.
What is a herbal vinegar? Herbal Vinegar is vinegar that has been infused with herbs, spices, fruit, and/or vegtables. Herbal Vinegars can be made with fresh or dry herbs, with room tempature vinegar or heated vinegar. Hot vinegar best with dry herb and has a shorted inusion time, a week, or 7 days. Made with Fresh Herbs and room temperature vingear will take longer to infuse sitting for 2 to 4 weeks and have a more balanced flavor.
Using fresh herbs in herbal vinegars, stronger herbs, or shrub herbs, like the evergreens, Rosemary and Thyme hold up well in Apple Cider or Red Wine Vinegar. Rosemary and Thyme also are medicinal herbs with lots of benefits.
Using fresh herbs, tear in small pieces, crush or rub to release the oils. The most powerful tonics or home remedy are made with care; knowing the powerful plant medicine, allowing for greater surface area contact to plant compounds beginning with the release of oils to infuse into liquid.
Also just as you take care using fresh herbs that are torn and bruised to release plant medicine; In cooking using fresh ingredients, to optimize flavor, and techinques to optimize medicine. Techinques like, zest citrus fruit before slicing to release the oil from the peel and don't forget to add the broken down peel and oil, the zest! LOL! Take time, another from cooking and knowing Food IS Medicine; bruise the garlic, finely chop, and set aside a few minutes to begin break down and release of oils. You will see it on the cutting board.
Break up or smash cinnamon sticks. Believe me, It's always the little things.
Almost to the printable recipe for Fire Cider, Fire Cider Tonic in 4 methods. First the Herbal Vinegar, and taking care preparing it using fresh ingredients. You're ready to make the Herbal Vinegar, place in jar and cover with vinegar leaving a head space, place a piece of parchment paper between jar and seal with rim/ or lid. Remember 1 week for heated vinegar. And a 2 week min. to 4 week max. using room temp. Strain out solids and you're ready to add tonic to water daily. The herbal vinegar can be used in mixed drinks, and cooking. Example would be salad dressings, slaw, sauces, etc.
Also as Herbal Vinegar Tonic you can mix equal parts with honey for Fire Cider Syrup. So 2 methods, room temp or heated, depending on your infusing time.
Label Jars.
Now a few other ways to make Fire Cider. A tincture instead of herbal vinegar.
What is a tincture? A tincture is typically an extract of plant medicine dissolved in ethanol. In order for tinctures to be shelf stable, they need to be at least 20% by volumn or 40 proof. Tinctures are strong, or more potent, with powerful plant medicine. Tinctures are meant to be taken in small amounts, with most you may only need a few drops. Much like an essential oil. Place ingredients in jar, Add Vodka at least 2 inches above herbs and spices, shake 2 times daily for a month. After a month strain, and squeeze out all the resulting liquid from solids using cheesecloth. Remember clean jars, and seal and label, and all that.
Use Fire Cider Tincture by the drop in water or tea.
NOW a few side notes FOR YOUR INFORMATION>
Infusions - when you steep plants to glean benefits. The MOST COMMON is tea.
Tea is an infusion using heated water to release plant medicine. Infused Oils & Butters both for cooking and apothecary, such as salves. Plants infused in oil. Infused Vinegar - Fire Cider
Decoction - is simmering herbs & spices in water, 20 to 45 minutes, so then the water contains the soluble constituents or plant medicine being simmered.
(Think Soup! Stock and Broths, had to throw that in, since I made Garlic Thyme New Potato Soup for supper. And the best for my stomach is bone broth when I have a flare up, tried and true.)
Maceration - softening by soaking in a liquid, typically with oil to gently extract plant power. Also Honey. You can use Fire Cider Herbs & Spices & Citrus for Spiced Sore Throat Honey.
In fact the herbs, spices, and citrus of Fire Cider is the most common go to ingredients for home remedies. A simple spoonful of lemon, honey, and cinnamon I've gave all the kids over the years and is my first fast go to, lemon or not, a spoonful of honey will help your throat. And all my herbal tea blends like Flu Fighting Tea , has guess what? The same beneficial Citrus, Herbs, And Spices. It's ALL ABOUT THE PLANT. Knowing the plant power, the medicine. Then you can see how you can apply this to your life. FOOD IS MEDICINE it's all connected, from eating the herb, to other methods, like tea. Do you know that the essential oils obtained from these Fire Cider herbs, spice and citrus blend, is in essential oils known as Thieves Oil? These blend of oils can be used to purify the air. Wait one more, a Fire Cider Herb and Spice Dry Bundle, I made can be used to smudge. Or Purify with smoke, like with the essential oil plant medicine only in a different method. And in Aromatherapy this powerful plant medicine used to cleanse the air and uplift spirits can be in simmer pots. I've been simmering clove on the stove for ages especially over the winter. Which brings me to one caution note before beginning. YOU MAY HAVE TO TURN ON EXHAUST to Simmer Fire Cider Recipe for the last method, Making Fire Cider Syrup. A Fire Cider simmered. A Decotion made into syrup by mixing equal parts honey. Elderberry Syrup is made this way.
Here is a printable recipe card. Enjoy. I hopes this helps. Before I go, a few notes on using other ingredients or combinations of. YES! Grapefruit, Tumeric Root, Horseradish root, Cayenne or other hot peppers depending on availability or growing season. I also added crushed Rosehips for the extra Vitamin C like Emergen-C.
Here YOU GO.
By Ginger Hill, Salisbury Garden Gift Shop, @salisburygardengifts
Please Enjoy these snap shots of a few other recipes from a book
"Grandma Putt's Old- Time ...Solutions"
