Fire Cider & Morning Tonic
Two powerful, immune-boosting recipes with infused apple cider vinegar.
About apple cider vinegar
Vinegar fermentation is probably as old as wine fermentation. In fact, vinegar is made from wine (or any other alcoholic substrate) and was discovered after bacterial species fermented the wine further to create a spoiled product. Pretty soon people realised that this spoilage is actually quite good and has many uses in food preservation, and so it became a valuable product in its own right.
Cider vinegar has regained popularity in recent years with many health benefits attached to its name. Some are scientifically proven and some might be more in the realms of unsubstantiated marketing claims… personally, I find this to be irrelevant for my consumption of cider vinegar, I simply really like it.
Mother of vinegar
Have you ever seen the words “Including the Mother” on the label of a cider vinegar bottle and wondered what it means? Mother of vinegar is the name given to the SCOBY responsible for vinegar fermentation. It refers to the microbial community that is responsible for the fermentation process. It looks like a wobbly disc, containing bacteria and cellulose (that is produced by the bacteria) floating at the top of the fermentation.
Fun Facts about Vinegar
The name vinegar derives from the Old French words vyn egre, meaning sour wine.
The main acid in vinegar is acetic acid, usually present at 5-8% volume.
Legally, only fermented vinegar can be named as such. Synthetic acetic acid cannot be called vinegar.
While by definition “cider” is fermented apple juice, the common use of the word extends it to any fruit fermentation. So you’d be right to say pear cider, unless talking to a cider snob.
Homemade Fire Cider / Morning Tonic
Fire cider is the beverage that opened my eyes to the world of cider vinegar. It is an ancient drink with deep roots in folk medicine and is considered to be an immune supporting remedy.
It is basically an infused cider vinegar, packed with aromatic, hot and spicy, immune boosting ingredients like onion, chili, garlic, ginger, turmeric, black pepper and more. These ingredients are resuspended in cider vinegar for about a month (!), leading to a fantastically strong and aromatic flavour.
Morning Tonic is the shy, gentler sibling of the fire cider that has become my favourite.
It is based on cider vinegar and infused with various aromatic and immune boosting ingredients like cinnamon, orange, rosemary, turmeric, ginger, thyme and more. Following the long infusion (3-4 weeks), the aroma received is powerful and delicate at the same time.
How to use it?
My preferred way - A shot of fire cider / morning tonic in a lukewarm water with added tablespoon of olive oil. You can add honey if you like as well.
These infusions can fit anytime of the day! although starting your day with fire cider is a bit harsh… I find the morning tonic very pleasant and it is particularly good with some sparkling water on a warm day.
Alternatively you can replace any use of vinegar with these infusions, my daughter and I like to have a bit of the morning tonic sprinkled on our muesli… you will find that the added flavour brings your food to another level.
Infusion vs. Fermentation
While we use here a fermented product—raw apple cider vinegar, the process itself is an infusion, not a fermentation. We are using the vinegar to extract the beneficial compounds from the raw ingredients like ginger and turmeric. This is different from other recipes here like sauerkraut , where we create the conditions for microbes to transform the food itself!
Both infusions use very potent compounds that have known anti-inflammatory qualities like ginger and turmeric, adding a few back peppercorns will add the absorption of turmeric and so is consuming it with some olive oil.
Fire Cider / Morning Tonic Recipe
Ingredients
** This list of ingredients is merely a suggestion. Quantities can be varied based on the amount you choose to prepare and you can add/ detract from the ingredient list based on whatever is available for you.
Fire Cider
2-5 Chilis
Red onion
Garlic (1 head)
Lemon, diced with the peel
Ginger root, grated
Turmeric root, grated
Thyme
Rosemary
Coarse Black pepper
Cinnamon sticks
Parsley
Cider vinegar with the Mother
Honey - optional
Morning Tonic
Orange, diced with or without the peel
Lemon, diced with the peel
Ginger root, grated
Turmeric root, grated
Thyme
Rosemary
Cinnamon sticks
Cider vinegar with the Mother
Honey - optional
Instructions
1.Place all ingredients (except honey if using) in a jar
2.Cover with cider vinegar, preferably an unpasteurised one that still contains the Mother.
3.Close the jar and leave to infuse for 3-4 weeks (at least, it can stay infused for years), shaking the jar every now and then.
4.Once infused you can either leave it as it is or strain the herbs out of the liquid or blend the whole batch in the food processor (without the cinnamon sticks!) and then return to the jar. The latter is my preferred option as it maximizes the flavours and the benefits.
5.At this stage you can add warm honey to the mixture. Personally, I prefer to keep the morning tonic unsweetened and add honey to my morning tonic drink if I find the need.