Kombucha Vinegar Flu Tonic

As winter approaches, it can be helpful to strengthen our immune system and try to get a leg up on colds and flu.  This remedy/booster uses kombcha vinegar as it’s foundation.  Being an avid kombucha maker (I make 2 gallons at a time), I often end up with more than I can drink, so every once in awhile I make some kombucha vinegar.

In case you haven’t accidentally discovered how to make kombucha vinegar on your own, I’ll share a quick parallel.  I have a teacher who once gave some simplified instructions on how to do a certain meditation which he referred to as the “non-doing meditation.”  The point of the meditation is to pay attention to your experience, whatever it may be, and not monkey with it in any way.  His guidance couldn’t have been more simple: “Put your butt on a cushion.  End of instruction.”  Making kombucha vinegar is a little like that.  If you want to quote me, it’s: “Put kombucha in bottle. Wait until it turns to vinegar.  End of instruction.”

Once you have this vinegar, what to do with it?  Aside from using it for dressings and sauces, this particular recipe is a great way to use up a bunch of vinegar and make something healthy for you in the process. This recipe is for a small amount, so you can test if you like it, but there’s no reason you couldn’t make much larger batches.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Fermentation time: 4 weeks (or longer)
Yield: 2 1/2 cups

 

Ingredients:

2 1/2c kombucha vinegar
1/2c (2 oz.) grated ginger
1/2c (2 oz.) grated fresh horseradish (warning – can be much stronger than onions when grating)
1 medium onion (7 oz.) diced
3/4c (3 oz.) grated daikon radish
4 cloves garlic diced
1 jalapeno pepper diced
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1Tbsp turmeric powder or 2 oz grated turmeric

Directions:

1.  

1. In a 1 quart jar, place all ingredients including kombucha vinegar
2. Put lid on. If using a jar which has exposed metal in the lid, it can be helpful to place some wax paper over the jar opening and screw the lid down over that.  This can help to prevent the metal from corroding.
3. Place in the refrigerator and wait about a month. This could benefit by steeping for much longer and continuing to get stronger.
4. Strain out the solids and pour into a jar and keep it in the refrigerator
5. Drink a Tbsp or more each morning

Some commonly claimed benefits of the various ingredients in this tonic are:

• kombucha vinegar – probiotic, blood sugar balance
• ginger – reduce nausea and ease digestion, fights colds and chills
• horseradish – antioxidant, sinus clearing, cough, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial
• onion (7 oz.) – colds, bronchitis, antihistamine, high in vitamin C
• daikon radish – anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, respiratory aid
• garlic – immunity, cardiovascular health, antibacterial
• jalapeno pepper – sinusitis, combat infection, breaks up mucous
• cayenne pepper – circulation, mucous breakup and fever relief
• turmeric – anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory