The flu hit hard last December and almost everyone I knew came down with it, including me. As usual, I did the Zen thing and didn’t resist the fact I was sick, so I could enjoy what the experience had to offer. I liked being warm and cozy in my bed and having the opportunity to do nothing, just be.
When Theresa called and I told her I was under the weather, she mentioned a traditional folk remedy said to help with colds and flu. Since I’m somewhat of a kitchen witch, I jumped at the chance to concoct a healing elixir, especially one that had no exact recipe.
I gathered the ingredients ‒ garlic, ginger, lemon, honey, cayenne ‒ and made a batch. To my surprise, this pungent potion had a magically soothing effect, as if my body said a loud and resounding YES. The next day, I turned a corner and started to feel better. Of course, I’ll never know for sure if I would have improved anyway, but there was certainly no harm in trying this.
To make the elixir, I peeled and chopped the cloves from a whole head of garlic. Then I peeled a ginger root and cut it into small chunks. I put the garlic, ginger, lemon juice and raw honey in my Vitamix blender along with three of cups of spring water and gave it a whirl. I let the mixture sit on the counter overnight, then poured it into ice cube trays and froze it. The next day, I transferred the frozen cubes to a quart mason jar. This way, I will always have some on hand. For those who like measurements, I used around ⅓ cup each of garlic, ginger, lemon juice and honey.
A couple of tips: soaking the garlic in water for an hour makes the skins slip off easily. I read that letting the chopped garlic sit for ten minutes before adding the water helps activate its beneficial compounds.
When it came time to drink the elixir, I gently warmed a couple of cubes and added a pinch of cayenne. Don’t heat it over 104⁰ ‒ that can destroy the enzymes in the raw honey.
I was curious about this age-old folk remedy, so I looked it up. It’s been used all over the world for aeons. Some people add raw apple cider vinegar. I even read an analysis that speculated why the remedy worked. This elixir is often called “fire cider”.
The next time you feel a cold or flu coming on, you might give this folk remedy a try. And if you do, please drop me a line—I’d love to hear how it went.