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When the tickle at the back of your throat develops an itchy, scratchy sandpaper quality, you find yourself reaching into pockets for tissues when out on a walk and your phone pings with reminders to book the annual flu shot, you know cold-and-flu season is well and truly on its way. And if you, like me, have children of school-going age, then brace yourselves for their return from the germ factory, full of sniffles, sneezes and snot.
After an awful cold that developed into pneumonia two years ago, last October I found myself frantically googling ingredients for Fire Water, a.k.a. Fire Cider. The fiery concoction has been touted as a preventive measure to be knocked back in one before myriad germs make their appearance.
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I wasn’t convinced of its efficacy but made two large batches anyway, religiously downing a shot every morning, my husband and I grimacing as the pungent brew hit the backs of our throats. Miracle of miracles, he managed to swerve the dreaded Man Flu all winter and I, prone to all kinds of cold-weather ailments including a particularly nasty cough, remained hack-free. Take from that what you will.
So, without further ado — because I have already ado’d much, I fear — here’s my tried-and-tested recipe, cobbled from various sources, random members of my family and one mysterious whispered conversation with an acquaintance who, having heard I was about to whip up a brew, issued the terse instruction to “add a carrot, make sure you grate it” before abruptly ending the call.
Fire Water, a.k.a. Fire Cider (Supplied)
Fire Water Recipe
Ingredients:
- Apple cider vinegar (with the “Mother” — I swear by Nonna Pia’s organic ACV)
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 unpeeled orange, washed thoroughly and chopped up
- 1 unpeeled lemon, also thoroughly washed and chopped up
- 1 small fresh green chilli, sliced ¼ cup
- ginger, peeled and freshly grated (tip: use a teaspoon to scrape skin off. Also, ginger freezes really well. I have a bag of frozen, thumb-sized pieces which I grate unpeeled, and from frozen)
- 8 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp dried tyme
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- Pinch of pink Himalayan salt (flaky sea salt also works)
Method:
Use a clean, sterilized glass jar and layer the vegetables, fruit and spices, pushing each layer down with a pestle or the rounded end of a rolling pin before building your next layer.
Add apple cider vinegar and honey to the jar and continue to push the layers down but make sure not to overfill; you want to stop layering before you get right to the top.
Fill with more vinegar, then close the lid tightly and place in a cool, dark cupboard where it will ferment for a minimum of two (and up to four) weeks (some people leave theirs in there for months on end). Place the jar in a bowl in case fermentation causes spillage.
At the two-week mark unscrew the lid (it might be a bit fizzy), and taste. Add more honey if needed. It can be strained in a sieve or cheesecloth at this point — press down with the back of a wooden spoon to extract maximum goodness — and be drunk, or it can go back into the cupboard until you are ready to strain and drink. Feel free to sweeten with honey or a sweetener of your choice
I cannot, I will not, claim this drink will solve all your problems, but it is full of very good things and maybe it might help you the same way it did me. Let me know if you make it, and do share your own cold preventives and cures.
Other than getting vaccinated, what do you do to keep winter ailments at bay? Do you have a recipe for a family remedy? I’d love to hear it.
Oh, and before I forget — add a carrot and make sure to grate it.
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Tasty tidbits
🏆 A month after announcing his departure from Academy Hospitality and spearheading company’s eateries (Gusto North, Merchant Kitchen, Yard Burger, Pizzeria Gusto, etc.), award-winning Winnipeg chef Jesse Friesen has announced a new catering venture via social media.
Capo Events + Catering offers catering for weddings and a range of other events, with an event space listed on the website as coming soon.
✈️ One of the 30 finalists for Air Canada’s best new restaurants has launched a new menu. Located inside Low Life Barrel House (398 Daly St. N.), Snack Haüs’s latest offerings dropped on social media and sees the purveyor of small bites tweaking its offerings slightly.
The gang at Snack Haüs will find out whether they’ve made the top 10 of Air Canada’s list in November.
🥤 Japanese joint Kinton Ramen has just introduced five new cream sodas to its drink menu. Sure to be a hit with younger members of the family, components of the make-it-yourself beverage arrive at the table separately for diners to mix and drink.
The café chain has swapped classic ice-cream for creamy oat milk, making this a rare treat for those with lactose intolerance issues.
Flavours include yuzu, lychee, mandarin, peach and coconut and, until Nov. 1, Halloween special Yokai Cream soda. The bloody concoction of Sprite with cherry and grenadine, topped off with oat milk, comes ready-made, complete with red syrup dripping down the glass and a pair of gummy fangs on top. Yum.
Recommended fare
Ben: I love a good collaboration beer, particularly when it’s between two local breweries. In last week’s beer roundup I reviewed Barn Hammer’s Unknown Origin, a hazy IPA the Wall Street brewery made with Sookram’s Brewing Co.
The two breweries also made a beer at Sookram’s — the First Contact West Coast IPA features the same hops and malt combo (the latter from from Manitoba’s Scythe Malting Co.), but was made in a more robust, hop-forward and dry style. It’s deep gold and clear in appearance, bringing bright citrus, resinous hops and malty flavours, with pronounced bitterness and a medium-length finish (it’s six per cent alcohol).
The beer is $4.79/473ml can and available at Sookram’s (479-B Warsaw Ave.), beer vendors and Liquor Marts.
AV: Every Saturday morning the Neubergthal Heritage Foundation operates Taunte Lisa’s pop-up café 9-11:30 a.m. Run by volunteers and donation only, the café offers locally-made sourdough and cinnamon bread which you toast yourself, freshly-baked muffins and a hot breakfast of potato egg and onion scramble which can be topped off with bacon, shredded cheese, parsley and tomatoes.
There’s also a barista who can whip up specialty coffees, and a selection of lovely teas as well.
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