Immunity boosting recipes to make in a glass mason jar
Stay strong throughout the Winter by preparing some of our favorite immunity boosting recipes that can be easily made and stored in a glass mason jar. Packed with nutrients to help you kick the sniffles during flu season while supporting your immune system, these vibrant recipes are full of healthy and comforting ingredients.
Below we share a quick roundup of recipes: crunchy golden sauerkraut, fire cider vinegar and classic ginger honey and lemon tea. From ginger to turmeric, our selection of recipes features a variety of zesty and zingy ingredients that are both instantly warming and have been known to help support wellbeing. For example:
- Fresh ginger
- Garlic
- Onion
- Fresh chilis
- Honey
- Turmeric or Curcuma
- Black peppercorns
Fire cider vinegar
Fire cider is a popular herbal folk remedy that has recently been popularized by Rosemary Gladstar, a well-known herbalist. Her earthy infusion of warm ingredients is a wonderful alternative to boosting immunity the natural way and has even gone viral across social media. Fire cider vinegar is claimed to aid digestion while warming you up on even the coldest of Winter mornings. Why not try out this hot and sweet, zesty, vinegary recipe adapted from Mountain Rose Herbs.
You can enjoy your immunity boosting tonic in a variety of ways. Here are some ideas:
- Drink it neat as a spicy and refreshing shot.
- Incorporate it into your morning juice recipes or splash it into a fried rice dish such as paella.
- Drizzle on top of a salad dressing with olive oil.
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 10 cloves of garlic, crushed or chopped
- 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
- Zest and juice from 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup fresh grated ginger root
- 1/2 cup fresh grated horseradish root
- 1 Tbsp. turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
- 2 Tbsp. of dried rosemary leaves
- organic apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup of raw, local honey, or to taste
Method
1. Chop and grate the ingredients as described above. The smaller your piece are, the better they will all infuse!
2. Add the ingredients into your choice of glass mason jar or flip-top glass container. Don’t forget that the more full your jar is, the less room you will have for liquid (and thus less end product).
3. Carefully pour the apple cider vinegar over everything and gently knock out any air bubbles as needed until your jar or container is full.
4. Cover the jars with either BPA-free plastic mason jar lids or high-quality food grade stainless steel lids that will not rust. If using a standard jar lid, add a piece of waxed parchment paper on top before putting the lid on. This is to ensure that the acidic nature of the vinegar will not corrode the metal lid.
5. Store your infusion at room temperature in an area where you will see it and remember to shake it daily.
6. Be sure to shake it each day to increase the steeping action, because this will cause the beneficial properties of each ingredient to infuse into the ACV even more. This will also to help prevent any growth of bacteria by keeping the contents moving.
After 4 weeks you can separate and strain the liquid. A fine mesh stainless steel strainer (or a typical strainer lined with cheesecloth) positioned over a large empty vessel below it.
Honey is traditionally added to fire cider “to taste” because it can provides effective relief to sore throats. If you are a strict vegan and do not want to use honey, you could substitute with a natural sweetener like agave syrup or stevia.
Add a couple of teaspoons to your liking of honey per jar to finish off this immunity boosting recipe.
Golden sauerkraut
The perfect addition to sandwiches, salads, tacos and hot dogs because of its crunchy texture – golden sauerkraut has fast become one of our pantry must-haves! Sauerkrauts are well known for their rich probiotic content. Probiotics are the good bacteria that help our body to fight off the bad bacteria that make us sick. We have shared this delicious and immunity boosting recipe, Golden Kraut, from green kitchen stories. You may easily half this recipe if you prefer however the first thing to remember is to sterilize your glass jars in advance.
Ingredients
- 2 green cabbages (3 kg) Save some of the outer layers of the cabbage for packaging on the top
- 800 g of carrots (6 medium carrots) or beetroot
- 15 g / 1,5 tbsp grated ginger
- 15 g / 1,5 tbsp minced garlic
- 15 g / 1 tbsp fresh grated turmeric (optional)
- 30 g / 3 tbsp ground turmeric
- 5 g / 1 tbsp caraway seeds
- 5 g / 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 2 tbsp / 30 g Himalayan sea salt (optional, you can do it without salt, but it speeds up the process)
Method
1. First, wash the cabbage and scrub the carrots, then finely slice the cabbage and grate the carrots.
2. Second, place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and use your hands (you might want to wear rubber gloves to prevent your hands to get stained by the turmeric!) to mix and massage until it starts to get soft and juicy. The vegetables should release quite a lot of juice, if not, just add some more salt.
3. Next, use a spoon or a tong to spoon the mixture into 2 large clean jars. Pack it really tight to leave out all air, keep packing until the jar is full of veggies and the veggies are covered in juice (important). Leave some space at the top to place a whole folded cabbage leaf on top, this is to prevent any oxidation.
4. Close with an air-tight lid. During the fermentation process, the veggies will expand and the liquid will try to come out, we put our jars in a bowl or a plastic bag for any juice that might drip from the sides.
5. Leave the jars to ferment in room temperature for 2-4 weeks (depending on room temperature), 3 weeks is usually perfect. When ready, it should be softly textured but not mushy and have a fresh, spicy and acidic flavour. Discard the cabbage leaves at the top and store the jars in the fridge.
Tips:
• Use organic vegetables for fermenting and don’t wash or scrub too much, it can destroy the natural enzymes on the vegetables!
Immunity boosting ginger and lemon honey tea
A classic Winter warmer and instant pick-me-up for anyone looking to alleviate the symptoms of the everyday cold, sometimes you can’t beat the simplicity of fresh ginger and lemon honey tea. We like this quick and simple immunity boosting recipe courtesy of the Kitchen!
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger (or more to taste), peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1/2 medium lemon
- 1 teaspoon honey, or to taste
- 1 ounce whiskey (optional!)
Method
- Start by placing the water, ginger, lemon juice, and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat until heated through. Next, pour the mixture through a strainer into a mug, this well help you to discard any chunks of ginger. To finish, add the shot of whiskey, if you are using.
Tips:
• To make this elixir extra aromatic, take a slice of lemon and stud it with 4-5 cloves. Insert it into the cup to garnish.
Shop glass jars to build these recipes in!
We think our Luna cap and Sunny cap jars could be an ideal match for these recipes. Discover their full features below:
Shop the Original Luna storage
Shop the Original Sunny cap jar
Make sure to share your favorite Winter warming recipes and immune-boosting snacks with us in the comments below. Happy Holidays!
