Herbal Vinegar for Colds and Flu
Here’s a great way to get rid of any lingering colds or flus – a spicy herbal vinegar tincture.
The spicy herbs in this mixture are great for opening sinuses and clearing mucus congestion.
Apple cider vinegar itself has a long history of use as a healing elixir. Being both antibiotic and antiseptic, it helps neutralize toxins in the body.
Make up a batch of this herbal vinegar tincture and keep it in a cool dark place for as long as 2 years. When you’re feeling sick, pull it out and take ½ to 1 teaspoon every hour to aid your healing process.
Spicy Herbal Vinegar
What you’ll need…
- 3 tablespoons minced onion
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 3 tablespoons grated fresh horseradish
- 3 tablespoons mustard seeds
- 3 tablespoons black peppercorns
- 1 or more whole cayenne chiles (or 1 teaspoon dried chile flakes)
- About 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup honey
- Need herbs? Visit Mountain Rose Herbs.
To make the herbal vinegar, mince the onion and garlic and put in a 1-pint jar.
Grate the ginger and horseradish and add them to the jar.
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Add the mustard seeds, peppercorns and chiles. Stir them all together.
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Pour vinegar over the mixture to fill the jar. There should be about 1 inch of liquid space above the other ingredients. Cap with a plastic lid (since the vinegar will corrode a metal lid). Let the mixture sit for 2 weeks, shaking the bottle daily to mix the herbs and the liquid.
After two weeks, strain the mixture using cheesecloth so that you can squeeze the herbs to extract all of the liquid. You’re almost done with your herbal vinegar at this point.
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Add the 1/3 cup of honey to help preserve your mixture. Pour into a clean bottle, and label and date it before storing it away in your cupboard.
IMPORTANT: Use a plastic lid OR a piece of plastic bag under a metal lid when making an herbal vinegar. The vinegar reacts to metal.
About the garlic in the herbal vinegar
Each of the herbs used in the mixture has their own healing qualities.
Herbalist Stephen Buhner writes, “No other herb comes close to the multiple system actions of garlic, its antibiotic activity, and its immune-potentiating power.”
Indeed, garlic is antibacterial, antiviral, antiseptic, antiparasitic, antifungal, and immune-stimulating.
Best used fresh and raw, bruising or crushing a glove of garlic releases allicin, the compound most responsible for its antibiotic action.
Most of us are not to keen on eating raw cloves of garlic, so this vinegar gives us an alternative way to get the healing power of garlic into our bodies.
Here are some frequently asked questions about herbal vinegars...
Besides apple cider vinegar, what are my vinegar options?
My vinegar of choice is apple cider vinegar, but you can experiment with different types of vinegars like white wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar. Making flavored vinegars with a variety of vinegar types and culinary herbs is a wonderful way to bring more delicious flavors into your cooking. You can add herbal vinegars to salad dressings, stir-fries, and more. Vinegar helps extract the minerals from herbs, so herbal vinegars can bring more nutrient density to your meals.
Can I use fresh herbs for vinegars?
Yes, just like in the recipe above, you can use fresh herbs in vinegars. I would avoid, however, using very water-rich fresh herbs (like big leafy herbs) so that you don't accidentally overly dilute your vinegar with excess water content, which would make it less shelf stable.
Are there other types of herb-infused vinegars?
Yes, there are so many different kinds of herb-infused vinegars you can make! You can experiment and add your favorite herbs to vinegar. Some popular herbs of choice include lemon zest, fennel seed, chive blossoms, cardamom seed, caraway seed, lavender, and rosemary.
Drinking vinegars can make a tasty addition to mocktails and cocktails — or you can even add them to plain sparkling water. These beautiful vinegars are sure to impress and can also add more nutrient density to your favorite drinks.
Where do I store my strained vinegar?
You can store your finished vinegar in the cupboard — make sure to label it with the ingredients and date before you store it.
The Herbal Remedy Vault has all of our printable recipe cards...
