How to make it
Kitchen preparations, step by step
Practical methods for the teas, ferments and broths our remedy pages discuss. Each one lists what it takes, what the evidence does and does not say about it, and the food-safety steps from public-health sources. The kitchen kit page lists the equipment each one calls for.
- Bone brothRoasted bones, water, a few vegetables and a long, gentle simmer. The cooking is easy; the part people get wrong is cooling a big pot fast enough. The health claims are mostly untested. About 7 hours, plus overnight chilling
- Elderberry syrupCooked, strained elderberry juice boiled with sugar. The one rule that matters is cooking: raw berries and the stems and leaves carry compounds that release cyanide. The cold and flu evidence is limited and mixed. About 1 1/2 hours
- Fire ciderA folk tonic of raw roots and peppers steeped in cider vinegar, then sweetened with honey. Nobody has tested fire cider itself; the safety rules come from extension guidance on flavored vinegars. 3 to 4 weeks
- Ginger teaSlice or grate fresh ginger, simmer it in water and strain. It is the simplest kitchen remedy there is, and ginger is one of the few with moderate trial evidence, for nausea in early pregnancy. 20 minutes
- Golden milkWarm milk whisked with ground turmeric, a pinch of black pepper and ginger. A pleasant bedtime drink; the studies behind turmeric's reputation used concentrated curcumin, not a teaspoon in milk. 10 minutes
- KimchiSalted napa cabbage tossed with a chili, garlic and ginger paste, fermented for a day or two and then kept cold. A university extension recipe with the safety checks built in. 1 to 4 days, plus 3 to 6 hours salting
- KombuchaSweet tea fermented by a SCOBY. A university-tested recipe now exists, with clear safety steps. The health claims are almost entirely untested in people, and home kombucha is not for everyone. 7 to 10 days
- Milk kefirKefir grains in a jar of pasteurized milk, left on the counter for a day. It is the easiest ferment to keep going, and kefir has one of the better-supported uses in the kitchen: easier lactose digestion. 18 to 24 hours
- SauerkrautShredded cabbage, salt and time. The tested method from the National Center for Home Food Preservation, scaled to one 5-pound batch, with the safety checks that matter. 3 to 6 weeks
- Water kefirA lightly fizzy, sour-sweet drink made by fermenting sugar water and a dried fig with water kefir grains. No extension service has tested a home recipe yet, so this one uses the conditions reported in research. 1 to 3 days