Lakeside vendor’s fire cider spices up life

In 400 BC Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, prescribed one of the first known elixirs for one of his patients, a mixture of honey and vinegar; but over the last 2,500 years the recipe has evolved into what is now called “fire cider,” a medicinal tonic that can include vinegar, honey, citrus, turmeric, horseradish, jalapeño, cinnamon, onion, and other herbs and spices usually used as a preventive supplement or a daily treatment for what ails you.

Melissa Babcock, owner and creator of BeeWildRose Fire Cider, discovered her passion for her own fire cider recipe while working as a postal employee. “When my oldest daughter was 3 1/2 and I was considering going back to work, I decided to resign from my job when I got pregnant with second daughter. And then I said you know what, I’m just gonna make this my part time job, but then I realized that I really love it.” The name “BeeWildRose” comes from the middle name of her (now) three daughters.

She came up with her own take on the ancient recipe, but everybody’s recipe is different. “I think it probably started about five years ago when I just made a batch with what I had in the house; and I love garlic and I love ginger and so I like a little spice and a lot of the herbs are antibacterial and antiviral, and are just really good for you. So I just made something that had as many of the health benefits as possible but also just settled on this recipe. I added the cinnamon, actually, through my dad whose report from the doctor gave him a cautionary analysis about his diabetes. I told him to drink this and it actually ended up helping him so that became a favorite flavor.”

She also wanted a spice for people who are familiar with fire cider but wanted an extra kick. So what gives the spicy version the extra jolt? Japapeños – quite a few tablespoons, of course, that she gets from a nearby farm or from a local organic food market. Her fire cider is now available in three flavors: original, cinnamon, and spicy.

“We are all in this together,” explained Jeff Bialis from J&A Farms in Goshen, NY. “Customers shopping with us know that we work together to produce products that are then going out into our local community and it’s just that: it just creates a full circle where one vendor works together to create these things that include my produce. Jonathan [of Hudson Valley Pantry] uses my tomatillos and Melissa [of BeeWildRose Fire Cider] uses some of my herbs for her ciders. I just have always found that the sense of community is important to me after participating in farmers markets for over 30 years.”

The Lakeside Farmers Market, sponsored by the Village of Greenwood Lake, features products from many local producers and vendors, from farm fresh produce, homemade cheese, tree-ripened fruit, fresh eggs, grass-fed beef, pastured pork and lamb, and a growing selection of delicious prepared foods made from many of the same farmers who are part of the weekly lineup, at Winstanley Park, on Windermere Ave. in the Village of Greenwood Lake, NY. To learn more, visit VillageofGreemnwoodLake.org/lakeside-farmers-market.