Finishing the Fire Cider - November 12, 2019 @goldenoakfarm

Back on October 8th I made a post about making fire cider detailing how I made the ferment this year.

For more info on how I made fire cider last year check this link out.

It’s been fermenting for a month and it was time to finish it. I’d also run out of last year’s fire cider on Monday evening. Being sick, I needed more. When I read last year’s post, I’d been sick then too and stolen some out of the un-pressed jar.

My helper friend was coming Tuesday morning and he brought his tincture press with him.

From the first jar

I let him do the pressing as he really squeezes the last little bit out. Feeling as poorly as I was, I didn’t think I could do it.

He’d already pressed his own batch a week or so ago. This is the end of my pressing. Lovely color, yes?

The residue left from the pressings

The 2 full ½ gallon jars yielded this much cider.

As I’d not had my fire cider Tuesday morning, I got my glass out and poured a shot. It wasn’t quite as snappy as last year’s. We decided it was for 2 reasons:

1. I’d used whole year old dehydrated but vacuum sealed peppers vs fresh chopped peppers last year

2. I’d used fresh or freshly preserved ginger last year, and ginger that had been in alcohol since January this year.

So we decided to pep it up a bit. I thought we’d put a crushed pepper in a tea bag in the ½ gallon jar and ½ of a crushed pepper in a teabag in the quart. I’ll let them steep for a good while and see if it helps the flavor.

The recipe calls for raw honey, but neither of us feels our cider needs that, so we don’t add it after the pressing.

Next year, I hope to have my own ginger again, perhaps fresh even, and my own onions and garlic. I’ll get new peppers from my helper friend, as he has no shortage of them. (He’s a self acclaimed pepperhead…)

He might even have horseradish again. This was the off year for horseradish. I plan to plant my own this coming year, but it will be at least 3 years before I can harvest roots.

So now I have my fire cider and my elderberry concentrate and I will soon be feeling better.