Citric bitters

This post is part of the UK Herbal blog party on bitters hosted by Debs Cook at Herbaholics Herbarium.

January, especially when blessed with snow and ice, can often make you feel like hibernating for the rest of the winter. The midwinter festivities may also have left you with digestive stagnation from all the wonderful food and treats consumed. Whether we like it or not, January is a perfect time to start a new relationship with bitters. There is every likelihood they can promote a healthy digestive system and even lighten your mood, helping you to work your way towards Spring in the most positive way possible.

If you are new to the concept of bitters and maybe feel sceptical about the idea of a national “Bitters Deficiency Syndrome”, I suggest you read Jim MacDonald’s excellent article, “Blessed Bitters”. I have written a previous article about the bitters I know. You can also find further discussions about bitters on the Herbwifery Forum and the August 2008 blog party .

One major difficulty in introducing bitters into your diet at this time of year is the absence of fresh greens. You could go to the shops and buy watercress and other bitter salad greens, but salads may not be your first choice of food during cold weather.

There is another food group which is in season at the moment which we may not think of in terms of bitters, but is easily available - citrus. Grapefruit, oranges and lemons can all be used to make bitter tinctures or liqueurs with equal effectiveness providing the bitter taste is not masked by sweetness in the liqueur.

Oranges, especially Seville oranges used for marmalade, make a useful bitter tincture. Other sweet oranges can also provide a bitter component if the peel is used with the white pith left intact. Lemon peel can be used in the same way, to make a “cooler” bitter. I often add fresh or dried citrus peel to teas and elixirs to add an extra “umph” to the mixture.

Recipes
Here is a selection of recipes from various herbalists which use citrus and other warming bitters which are helpful for this time of year.

Grapefruit bitter aperitif (Rebecca Hartman)
Slice up some grapefruit peel and remove most of the white pith. Put the slices of peel in a pot with enough water to cover them by about an inch. Add a pinch of salt. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer it for 15 minutes or so. Drain the peels and set aside the cooking water to make liqueur. Return the peels to the pot, add fresh water, bring it to a boil, and simmer it for another 15 minutes. Drain again (don’t forget to reserve the cooking water).

Bring all the reserved cooking water to a boil and reduce it by about a third. Now add 2/3 cup sugar per cup of water. Stir to dissolve. Let it cool and then add 1 cup of vodka per cup of liquid. You need to allow plenty of time both for the reserved cooking water to reduce and for the sugar water mixture to cool. Pour finished bitter into a glass jar with a screw top lid, label and date. When using, take about a shot glass full or less and add fresh grapefruit juice. It tastes wonderful!

Seville Orange bitter (Julie Bruton-seal)
Fill an empty jam jar loosely with the peel of a couple of Seville oranges, a tablespoonful of cardamon pods, and a few fennel or anise seeds. If you wish, add a clove or two - but not too many as they are strong. Add a tablespoon of honey, and top the jar up with vodka (or brandy, whisky or rum if you prefer). Keep in a dark cupboard for a month, shaking occasionally, then strain off and bottle the liquid. Take half a teaspoonful before meals to improve digestion.

Bitter tincture (Jim Macdonald)
Dandelion root (mixture of roasted and raw or dried) (Use gentian or yellow dock root if available)
Orange peel
1tsp dried ginger or ½-1 inch root ginger
Fill a glass jar with chopped root and peel, cover with vodka for 3 weeks in dark cold place, strain and use. Dose is 15-30 drops 15 minutes before eating or after a heavy meal to release stagnant feeling

Chamomile bitter (Jim Macdonald)
1oz dried chamomile flowers
32 fluid ounces just boiling water
Steep flowers in water overnight.
Dose is 1fl oz taken cold. Freeze remainder in 1fl oz portions and use as necessary.

Bitter tea (Kristena Haslam)
Dandelion root
Burdock root
Milk thistle seed
Ginger
Cardamom seeds
Cover with cold water, bring to the boil in covered saucepan and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Strain and drink.

Demulcent bitter tea (Darcey Blue French)
2 tsp flax seed
Bitter roots (dandelion, burdock, elecampane, angelica either one or a combination)
Warming spices (cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.)
Place in small saucepan and fill with cold water. Heat uncovered and simmer for half an hour until liquid in saucepan has reduced by half. Strain and drink

Bittersweet digestive and immune tonic (David Essig-Beatty)
Mix tinctures of burdock root and fennel in equal proportions.
Dose: 30 drops 15 minutes before meals.

Herbwifery - a continuing journey

I don't know what it was I ate yesterday (although I have my suspicions!) but a chronic stomach ache during the evening followed by a sleepless night made me decide I was in need of rest and recuperation. So today has been spent pottering, gazing out of the window amazed at the further blanket of snow on the garden and lying on the sofa watching mindless TV.

While Chris and I were having lunch (homemade hearty vegetable soup and a sandwich)there was an advert on TV extolling the virtues of various bits of furniture.

"Ah," said Chris, "any furniture we buy has to withstand the effects of herbs!"

It made me chuckle at the time, but it's very true.

Any extra scrap of time I have is spent pottering with herbs. At the moment, I'm concentrating on digestive bitters. Last Saturday we made a digestive elixir with ground fennel seeds, grated ginger and diced orange peel. It smelled and tasted wonderful and I look forward to the time when it's fully matured.

I've been anxious to try Julie Brueton-Seal's recipe for Seville orange bitter ever since I read her article on the Herb Society website. I know the season for Seville oranges is short and it's this month, so last week I tottered through the ice and snow down to Birmingham market and asked hopefully at the fruit stalls if they had any.

"You're too early," they told me. "Come back next Tuesday."

Yesterday, conditions underfoot were a little better, but the wind was unforgiving. When I reached the stalls, the first trader looked at me with disbelief, "Nothing like that here," he said, "people don't want them any more!"

I wondered if they'd been having me on the previous week, but tried my luck a little further down. Hidden at the back of a stall was a box of Seville oranges. I bought 6 oranges and 6 lemons for the grand total of £2.40, thinking to myself, "You have no idea what I'm intending to make" as I handed over my money.

I thought my bitter foray would have to wait until Saturday afternoon, but this morning found me in a deserted kitchen (Chris had gone to hire an RAF pilot's uniform for a fancy dress evening on Thursday) armed with my camara taking artful snaps of various citrus fruits.

One of the things I love about herbal medicine is that once you understand the principles of a recipe, you can substitute whatever you fancy to give a similar effect.

I found this quote on Henriette's website from Chris Hedley, "Bitter tonics in one form or another will be benificial to most people. The only common proviso is to add a little spice, for warmth, for cold people and conditions."

So, while Juliette adds fennel and cardamoms for her warming spices, I added some chopped ginger to one of mine. You can see the outcome on the heading picture of the blog. I thought the juxtaposition of the snow and the new tincture said everything. Just because the weather is challenging doesn't mean you can't make something seasonal and fresh!