Fire Cider Vinaigrette

Add the pop of color every Thanksgiving table needs by adding this botanical salad with a fire cider vinaigrette to the menu. It is a beautiful, colorful, and healthy dish that all your guests will surely adore. Not only does fire cider make a fantastic vinaigrette dressing, but it makes a great preventative tonic that can be used to fight off the common cold. It is a sweet, spicy, homemade vinegar tonic that has become increasingly popular for its amazing immune-boosting abilities and many health benefits. This salad adds the pop of color that every Thanksgiving spread needs.

What is Fire Cider?

Fire Cider is a spicy, yet sweet apple cider vinegar-based tonic that is infused with natural warming herbs, fruits, and roots that has fantastic immune-boosting benefits. This natural remedy was developed by the herbal goddess Rosemary Gladstar in the late 1970s. Her goal was to show others how raw foods and herbs were essential for a healthy lifestyle. It’s super easy and can be made with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.

What Makes a Great Vinaigrette?

Making a delicious and healthy vinaigrette is so simple, you won’t ever want to buy store-bought dressing again. The key to making a great homemade vinaigrette is by making sure to balance the acid, fat, sugar, and salt ratios. I personally love to add a little bit of honey to my vinaigrettes because of the health benefits and antimicrobial properties found in honey. This fire cider vinaigrette recipe calls for avocado oil, dijon mustard, honey, fire cider, salt, and pepper, measured out perfectly to ensure that your vinaigrette comes balanced and delicious.

Assembling the Salad

The salad is super fun and easy to throw together. Lay down a thick layer of arugula, topped with fresh mint, radishes, basil, and pomegranate seeds. Then tie it all together by throwing bright edible flowers on top to garnish. You can always turn this into a winter salad by adding butternut squash or sweet potatoes and garnished with sunflower petals and asters to give it a pop of bold color.

Making the Fire Cider

My Fire Cider recipe calls for apple cider vinegar, garlic, onion, ginger, and jalapeno. Of course, I had to give it my own botanical twist and added some fresh rosemary, cinnamon, lemons, and orange slices to give it a more flowery flavor. For my fire cider recipe, I order all my dried herbs, avocado oil (for the vinaigrette), and favorite rainbow peppercorns from Mountain Rose Herbs. They are a sustainable, zero-waste company and all their products are organic, what’s not to love?

You want to start by getting a pint-size jar and fill it with chopped white onion, 2 rosemary springs, ½ an orange, 3 garlic cloves, a 2-inch piece of ginger, and 1 teaspoon of rainbow peppercorns. Fill the jar to the top with apple cider vinegar. Then cover the jar with a piece of wax paper, metal lid, and store in a dark place for about a month. After a month, strain the mixture, add some honey, and whisk the ingredients in the vinaigrette and serve it with your favorite salad! You can find my full fire cider recipe here!

Fire Cider is extremely versatile and can be used for so many different recipes and remedies. Remember if you want to make this fire cider vinaigrette recipe, you need to plan to make the fire cider a month in advance so it’s ready in time to prepare the vinaigrette. This year is all about taking care of our health as much as possible. All you need is a spoonful in the morning to wake you up, kickstart your metabolism, and boost your immune system!