Infusions
Fire Cider
Horseradish, ginger, garlic, onion and hot chili packed into a jar and drowned in raw cider vinegar. A month later you strain it, sweeten it with raw honey, and it bites back.
- Time
- 30 min + 4 weeks
- Course
- Infusions
- Pour
- Wildflower
Traditional practiceFire cider is a traditional folk preparation popularized by herbalists in the 1980s. Offered as a kitchen practice, not as medicine — no health claims are made here.
How
- 1
Grate ½ cup fresh horseradish and ⅓ cup fresh ginger (open a window — horseradish fumes are fierce).
- 2
Chop 1 onion, smash 6–10 garlic cloves and slice 1–2 hot chilies, an orange and a lemon. Pack everything into a 1-quart jar with a sprig of rosemary.
- 3
Fill the jar with raw apple cider vinegar until everything is submerged. Put parchment under the lid so the vinegar doesn't touch metal. Label with the date.
- 4
Keep somewhere dark for 4 weeks, shaking every few days.
- 5
Strain, pressing the solids hard. Stir in raw honey to taste — start with ¼ cup — and bottle.
- 6
Take a spoonful straight, stir into hot water, or use it in dressings, marinades and a spicy toddy.
Shop this recipe
You may need
Tick what you already have. We'll remember for next time.
Shop what you need to make this (15)
Fresh from the market: fresh horseradish root, fresh ginger, garlic, onion, fresh hot chili, oranges, lemons, fresh rosemary.
Some links may earn us a small commission at no cost to you.
Which honey?
Best with
Where to find a jar
Keep going
More like this
Infusions
Fire Honey
Dried chilies and garlic steeped slowly in raw honey. Two weeks of patience, then it goes on everything: pizza, fried chicken, roasted carrots, sharp cheese.
Infusions
Ginger Honey
Thin coins of fresh ginger left in honey until it turns sharp and warming. A spoonful in hot water is the whole recipe for a cold evening.
Infusions
Vanilla Bean Honey
A split vanilla bean and a light honey. In a week it tastes like the inside of a bakery.
Have a jar and no plan? Start from the honey.