How to Make Your Own Thieves Vinegar: Boosting Total Immunity
Have you ever heard of the healing tonic known as Thieves Vinegar? This DIY healing wonder has an interesting history, named after four thieves in Marseilles, France who used it to avoid sickness during a pestilence cursing multiple cities in Europe in 1910, but you can make your own today with some simple ingredients.
Vinegar itself already has multiple healing properties, and apple cider vinegar (ACV) is used for everything from preventing coughs and colds to ridding the skin of eczema and acne. This is due, in large part, to the enzymes present in ACV that help the body to eliminate toxins and absorb nutrients from other foods you eat. As you may have heard, most Americans’ diets are devoid of the proper enzymes they need for optimum heath today.
When you add some antimicrobial herbs to an already-healthy vinegar (containing the power of fermentation), you end up with a health tonic that is referenced in the Bible and the writings of Ancient Greece.
The “Thieves” name comes with many stories. Some argue that condemned criminals were sent out to bury the dead during the plague, and only those who drank vinegar infused with garlic lived to tell about it.
Others say that thieves were robbing the homes and corpses of those that had died, but one particular group of thieves survived. When they shared the secret of the herbal vinegar blend they used to protect themselves from the plague, they were granted leniency in court for the crimes they had committed. The name “Forthave’s Vinegar” was used to describe the vinegar tonic of Richard Forthave.
At first I thought this recipe was an urban legend until I heard about different versions of it at a local natural wellness fair recently. It does have some colorful history, after all, but it turns out the myth behind the mystery is quite accurate. This is quite the healing brew – and the best part is you can use whatever ‘healing’ herbs you want to add to the mix.
Consider this recipe and then augment it to make it your own:
Ingredients for Four Thieves Vinegar
- Several peeled garlic cloves
- Several lavender blossoms
- Several whole cloves (they have one of the highest ORAC values of any known food)
- Rosemary (handful of leaves or a tablespoon of the ground, organic spice found in health food stores)
- Thyme (same as Rosemary)
- Sage (same as Rosemary)
- ½ teaspoon organic peppercorns
- 16 ounces of raw, organic Apple cider vinegar (ACV) make sure it contains the mother. Don’t’ use the highly processed kind that is clear. It lacks all those great enzymes.)
- Any other healing herbs growing in your garden or that you have easy access to.
Directions
Warm (don’t boil) the ACV and carefully pour it into an airtight jar. Add the herbs and close the lid by placing a piece of parchment paper on top of it so that the metal doesn’t touch the mixture. Allow the herbs to extract into the vinegar for at least four weeks. During that time, keep the jar or jars in a cool, dark place.
After a month has passed, enjoy a teaspoon a day as a preventative, or several sips a day if you are feeling under the weather. Try it, and let us know what you think.
Additional Sources:
Photo credit: CommonSenseHome
You copied too quickly and sloppily Christina. The pestilence was the plague, which occurred during medieval times. Your source mentioned a book about the four thieves legend written in 1910. Don’t rush too much when you copy and paste others’ material.
I’ve known about Thieves AND the plague since high school, my friend, but I like to give credit to sites where I get article ideas from. Go figure.
In Europe, there was late 1890’s and early 1900’s two cholera’s epidemies I know because several of my relatives died.
VINEGAR IS MY GO TO, WHETHER IT BE WINE VINEGAR, WHITE, APPLE , CIDER, WITH OR WITHOUT A MOTHER SOLVES MANY OF MY PROBLEMS. HONEY AND APPLE FOR A COUGH, WINE IN MY COOKING, A SPLASH ON MY HAIR FOR RED HIGHT LIGHTS, OR A SOLUTION TO WASH THE PESTIDSIDES OFF MY FRUIT OR VEGGIES AND THEN 1/3 TO 2 CUPS WATER IN A SPRAY BOTTLE CLEANS COUNTERTOPS, STOVES, SHINES MIRRORS AND WINDOWS,
AND REMOVES FINGER PRINTS FROM S.S. APPLIANCES. ONE TEASPOON CHASES HEART BURN AWAY. SOME ONE TOLD ME IF I PUT SOME? VINEGAR IN MILK I’LL GET BUTTER MILK. HAVEN’T TRIED IT YET.
Although the amounts and method are/is different slightly, this does work. I’ve used it as part of salad dressing during certain seasons just to keep the immunity boost up. When it gets to the point where it’s “bad” to the taste—it becomes bug repellent and I put it on the colors of my pets as a flea repellent. Have some macerating right now in oil and in vinegar for the upcoming flu season. Will try your version and compare. Thanks.