Thieves Vinegar – Immune Booster and Germ Killer
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Thieves Vinegar, Four Thieves Vinegar, Vinegar of the Four Thieves or Forthave’s Vinegar – no matter what you call it, thieves vinegar has a long history of use.
From Scientific American’s 1910 reference to “medicated vinegar was invented by four thieves of Marseilles who successfully employed it as a prophylactic during a visitation of pestilence” to a popular essential oil company creating a product line based off of the blend, antimicrobial herbs have a well earned reputation for their usefulness.
Fall is a great time to prep a batch of homemade four thieves vinegar to have on hand for cold and flu season.
History of Four Thieves Vinegar
Vinegar has been used as a health tonic for centuries. It is mentioned in the Bible and the writings of Ancient Greece. All of the four thieves vinegar stories that I read are set during the Bubonic plague, but there are a number of variations.
Some say that condemned criminals were sent out to bury the dead, but some survived by drinking large amounts of vinegar infused with garlic. Other say that there were many thieves robbing the homes and corpses of those that had died, and most of them died, but one particular group of thieves survived. They were granted leniency in court when they shared the secret of the herbal vinegar blend they used to protect them from the plague. (See “What is the Plague, How Dangerous is it and How Could I Get it?” for more information on the plague in modern times.) The name “Forthave’s Vinegar” describes the vinegar tonic of Richard Forthave.
How to Make Thieves Vinegar
My friend, Chris, from Joybilee Farm, referred to Thieves Vinegar as a “folksy recipe”, and said that when she listened to Rosemary Gladstar, a well-known herbalist, Rosemary used the herbs she had on hand. Mountain Rose Herbs offers this version of the traditional recipe. Note – it’s fine to use homemade apple cider vinegar for these herbal vinegar recipes if you have some on hand.
Basic Four Thieves Vinegar Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp organic sage leaf
- 1 tsp each, organic lavender flowers and organic rosemary leaf
- ½ tsp organic thyme leaf
- ½ tsp organic peppercorns
- 16oz raw organic apple cider vinegar
Directions
Place the herbs in a pint jar and fill to the top with gently warmed (not boiling) apple cider vinegar. Close with a plastic lid or place a piece of natural parchment paper under the lid to keep the vinegar from touching the metal. Allow to extract for four weeks. Strain the vinegar into a clean glass jar. Store in a cool, dark area.
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Rustic Thieves Vinegar Recipe
My friend, Betty Jean, uses this homespun version:
I just throw a couple heads worth of peeled garlic into a 2 quart jar along w/ hot peppers (cayenne), a handful each of oregano, cloves, thyme, and other herbs with antiseptic, antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral properties such as
- lavender blossoms
- rosemary
- cinnamon sticks
- lemon balm
- sage
- ginger
Pour apple cider vinegar over it to the top. Put on a lid and let sit for at least 2 weeks… I usually steep for about 6-7 weeks. Gently shake the jar each day. Strain. Take 1-2 tablespoons with a tablespoon of raw honey several times a day when sick or take one tablespoon per day for immunity boosting.
I went out in the garden to see what was still fresh, snipped a bit from the herbs in the window sill, and dug around in the herb cabinet for a few other odds and ends. (Top photo in the post.)
I ended up with:
- Lemon Balm
- Yarrow
- Aloe Vera
- Oregano
- Sage
- Rosemary
- Mixed Hot Peppers
- Chocolate Mint
- Calendula
- Garlic
- Plantain
- Cloves
- Licorice Root
- Ginger Root
Licorice Root and Ginger Root are both specifically mentioned in the book Herbal Antivirals: Natural Remedies for Emerging & Resistant Viral Infections, so I wanted to make sure to include them with all the nasty viral illnesses going around.
You can use the strained vinegar as a base for a vinaigrette. You can also use wine as a base instead of vinegar, with complimentary herbs, to make it more pleasant to consume, or make an thieves herb blend in a vodka base to use as a tincture.
Ways to Use Thieves Vinegar
- For illness or immune boosting. Take 1-2 tablespoons with a tablespoon of raw honey several times a day when sick or take one tablespoon per day for immunity boosting.
- As a surface disinfectant – put strained vinegar in a spray bottle, spray on surfaces and wipe clean. Chris mentions that the pH will rise after steeping, so the spray will be milder on surfaces.
- As a insect repellent – put 1/4 cup vinegar in a spray bottle and fill the rest with water. Spray on skin, clothes, etc.
- Diluted, as a topical treatment for dandruff, or as a foot soak for nail fungus.
Remember, in case of serious illness, always contact a trained healthcare professional. This post is intended for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any illness.
Have you ever tried thieves vinegar or do you plan to? Do you have a favorite home remedy for cold and flu season? I’d love to hear about it.
You may also enjoy more of our Common Sense Home Remedies series, including:
- The Best Cold and Flu Fighters – summary of all our cold and flu related posts
- How to Make Elderberry Syrups with Fresh or Dried Berries
- Immune Boosting Herbs in Finger Gelatin
- How to Infuse Herbs in Oil, Water, Vinegar, Alcohol or Honey
Originally published in 2014, updated in 2018.
Does four thieves go bad after any amount of time? What is the shelf life?
For best potency it should probably be made fresh each season, but once strained it will keep several years.
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HI Laurie, I have been reading your newsletters for a few years now and I always find something that I did not know. I have heard of Thieves vinegar but have not made any yet. My daughter and I sell Young Living Essential Oils and they have an oil called Thieves Oil that I use as a cleaner. It smells wonderful and is not to expensive to use. But I have been considering to make my own oil and now I will try the vinegar as well. I also make several other herbal products that I have found very useful over the years.
Keep sending out the very interesting and useful information I love to read every week. 🙂
Hi Shelagh.
Glad you enjoy the newsletters and posts. I find the thieves blends to be pleasant for cleaning, too, although my default for every day use is lemon because it utilizes a part of the fruit that would otherwise go to waste, and I’m a fan of the citrus smell.
I never thought of using it but I am curious, what part goes to waste? I use every part except the pith.
Maybe I will try some lemon for general wiping down counters that I prep food on. Thanks again for your great info.
Lemon essential oil is made from the peels, which are often discarded. Not that they can’t be used, but many people simply don’t use them.
many of the flu tonics out there call for horseradish and onion and garlic and peppers. Are you using mostly herbs because that’s what you have on hand, or do these two recipes conquer different germ bugs?
The four thieves blends were traditionally more herbal based. I think the recipes you’re referring to are more in the fire cider camp, which are also good.
I have heard that asparagus has antibacterial properties, does anybody know for sure? I know that beets help cleanse the blood and are good for the kidneys and that broccoli has antioxidants, but not sure about asparagus.
The only study I could find on any sort of antibacterial asparagus use was done with roots of wild asparagus, specifically “Evaluation of antibacterial activity of Asparagus racemosus willd. root.“. The abstract reads as follows:
So, in answer to your question – maybe?
My favourite remedy for colds is.
1 root marshmallow smashed
1 Zest of lemon
3 camomile tea bags or fresh camomile
1litre boiling water.
Poor water over marshmallow and lemon zest and let steep till cool.
Strain into a jug and use 1/4 cup mixture to 3/4 cup hot water add squeeze of lemon and teaspoon of honey.
Don’t take after 4PM as it will keep you awake.
Enjoy
It tastes great.
Forgot to mention add the camomile to the mixture then poor boiling water over it all
Great post. I read your posts fairly often and you always do a
good job articulating the whatever topic you’re blogging about.
Btw, I shared this on LinkedIn and my followers loved it.
Keep up the great work!
I love this so much! I once cured my own acid reflux with Apple Cider Vinegar… I suffered for over a year with a horrible chronic cough because of acid reflux that I just couldn’t control and I have been cured now for about 4 years!! I can’t wait to create some Thieves Vinegar of my own 🙂
Julie v. here; I’d like to know what you did. I’ve been taking pantoprazole for this same thing ! its awful. would like to start with ACV as much as I can handle. am at the point now that i’m not sure if the cough is what i’m suffering or if its the cold I am getting over. hate taking medics. but am working on getting ACV down at least once a day , it is awesome that I love it. please answer either laurie or sheri doyon. and yes I love this. also came off the pinterest site. I’ve been looking for ways to boost my liver health; my doctor says she is not happy with the no.’s i’ m too much of a healthy person to not try improving my diet on my own.
You might look into milk thistle (https://commonsensehome.com/milk-thistle/) and dandelion (https://commonsensehome.com/harvesting-and-using-dandelion-roots/). Both are noted as liver tonics.