Imagine something you can cook with, splash on salad, make medicines from and use to get rid of dandruff. What is this magic elixir? Raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar.
This wonderful alkaline liquid can electrify a bowl of kale or add character to a pot of collards while making the minerals in the greens more accesible. It’s a digestive aid, it can ease arthritis pain and lower fevers. It’s full of enzymes, rich in malic acid, potassium, sulphur, iron, phosphorus, copper and many other fantastic minerals. Who knew apple cider vinegar was so fabulous?
One way to get the goodness of apple cider vinegar onto your plate is by making herbal vinegars. To do this, you’ll need a glass jar with a plastic lid, apple cider vinegar and some fresh herbs. I’ve made herbal vinegars from raw dandelion greens, fresh rosemary and nettles. I like the convenience of getting the benefits of both the herbs and the apple cider vinegar by making the vinegar and including it on salads, in stir fries or greens. So I get the herbs, put them in a jar, cover them with apple cider vinegar, close the jar and let it sit for at least three weeks.
I remember my aunts adding apple cider vinegar to steaming pots of collard greens to make the greens more tender. Not only were the greens delicious but they were easier to digest because of the addition of apple cider vinegar.
Fire cider, a popular cold and flu preventative among herbalists and elders in the know, counts apple cider vinegar as one of its key ingredients. This strong mixture consists of garlic, onions, ginger, horseradish, cayenne pepper all thrown into a jar of apple cider vinegar. You can put a tabelspoon of this in water daily and drink it as a tonic during the winter. I have a friend who enjoyed his first cold-free winter season as a result of taking a shot of fire cider daily.
Funny enough, this elixir can bring the fire and rev up circulation when necessary but it can also help bring a fever down. In Family Herbal Rosemary Gladstar writes that bathing a feverish “child in a tepid bath with 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar added to bath water” or wrapping the “child’s feet in a cool cloth that has been dipped in a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water” can help lower the fever.
Besides being wonderful for our health, I know two people who have used apple cider vinegar in their hair and had good results. One used a rosemary vinegar rinse to keep her hair dandruff free, another used apple cider vinegar alone to add shine and fullness to her hair.
The way I most frequently make use of apple cider vinegar is in my food. With Spring just around the corner, I want to share my favorite kale salad recipe. This stuff is so yummy that my five year old and three and half year old gobble it up!
1 bunch fresh kale
1 tomatoe
1/2 yellow onion
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil
salt
cayenne pepper (optional)
Tear the kale and place it in a large bowl. Chop the onion and tomatoe and add them to the kale. Pour the apple cider vinegar and the olive oil over the salad, add a few pinches of salt. This is the most important part of this recipe: massage the kale salad thoroughly. Make sure all of the veggies are coated with oil and apple cider vinegar. Let this sit for about 15 minutes. The kale will wilt and the flavors in this simple salad will delight you. Sometimes I add ripe avocado to this salad (I stir it in so it becomes part of the dressing)or a little cayenne pepper for extra umph. Enjoy!
How do you use apple cider vinegar?
The Sage Honey 