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| grant and contain volatile oils. Hot bitters, like ginger root and horseradish, stimulate circulation in the stomach, intestines, sinuses and throughout the body. |
| Bitters are essential ingredients in Campari, Cynar, Magnoberta Fernet and other European aperitifs. A small amount taken before and after eating is a time-honored means of improving digestion. |
| Most Americans have heard of Angostura bitters, a widely sold aromatic preparation of water, alcohol, gentian and harmless vegetable flavorings, extractives and vegetable coloring matter, as its label says. Named not for the angostura tree or its bark but rather for Angostura, Venezuela, the town in which it was invented in 1830, Angostura bitters can be used as a sodium-free food seasoning, cocktail ingredient or appetite stimulant, and it can be taken after dinner to improve digestion and prevent flatulence. |
| Angostura is our best-selling digestive bitter because it really isn't bitter at all. Compared to European bitters, the Angostura blend is sweet and mild. Bitters are an acquired taste, to say the least. For a jolting taste sensation, try a tablespoon of Swedish bittersand not the mild form sold in American health food stores, but the stronger, more effective version you can make yourself. |
| The late Austrian herbalist Maria Treben made Swedish bitters a household name in Europe after she discovered its recipe in an old manuscript, which appears in her book Health Through God's Pharmacy, as follows. |
| Swedish Bitters Recipe Combine 10 grams aloe (or substitute gentian root or wormwood powder), 5 grams myrrh, 0.2 grams saffron, 10 grams senna leaves, 10 grams natural camphor, 10 grams rhubarb root, 10 grams zedoary root, 10 grams manna, 5 grams carline thistle root, 10 grams angelica root, and 10 grams Theriac venezian. Place this mixture in a wide-mouth two-quart bottle and add 1.5 quarts of 80-proof or higher proof alcohol (vodka, brandy, rum, whatever you prefer). Seal the jar and let it stand in the sun or near a stove or other warm place for at least 14 days (longer is better), shaking the jar daily. Strain the liquid, pour into small bottles and store in a cool, dark place. |
| As Maria Treben wrote, ''This way it can be kept for many years. The longer it stands, the more effective it becomes. Shake well before use!'' |
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