Bitters: Why Use Them?
Just got this from Healthy Hildegard.... one caveat though, I don't like Bitters in tablet form, because I think you need to taste the bitter herbs and most people just swallow them down quickly - you are supposed to let them melt on your tongue or dissolve in a beverage. I think bitters in liquid form are far more effective. But, the tablets are convenient for travel and such.
Bitters: Why Use Them?
The body's ability to recognize positive and negative bitters implies these flavors are not just a means to survive, but also a means to thrive.Most western diets have all but abandoned the bitter flavor profile. Among the five flavors we humans appreciate (salt, sweet, umami, sour, and bitter), most westerners actively avoid bitter foods. In fact, bitters serve an important role, by awakening bitter receptors throughout the body, including the gastrointestinal tract and the skin. Reacquainting with bitter flavors helps balance the palate, while contributing to digestive health.
For centuries monks and nuns throughout western Europe have used bitter herbs and roots to manage cravings during spiritual fasting periods and intermittent fasting. Ancient Romans used bitter herbs as pre-meal digestives to stimulate digestion and manage portion control.
Reintroducing bitters to a western diet with Hildegard’s Original Bitters Tablets, serves to re-acquaint the palate with an under-represented flavor, and loosens the grip of longstanding vices, such as cravings for sweets. Add bitters tablets to tea, as an alternative to coffee, to help break addictions to caffeine.
An appreciation for bitter flavors corresponds with digestive health and balanced appetite. The old German adage implores: “the less you like bitter, the more you need it!”
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Comments
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I can't recall where I read it, but I know that I've seen documentation that you really do need to taste the bitter flavor to get the best results.
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I work with children and parents at a self directed learning center. One of our founders who is also an herbalist, came as a guest to introduce the kids to herbs stimulating the different tastes. Bitters have a lot of healing effects as well. She didn't go into any great detail as the kids are 4 1/2 - 6. But it made me curious about bitter.
On another level, when all tastes are stimulated, it apparently helps minimize morning sickness in pregnant women (from Creating a Joyful Birth Experience by Sandra Bardsley, etc.).
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Ive enjoyed swedish bitters for years as a digestive and hydration aid. If im around people drinking. I get the bartender to give me soda water with lime and a splash of swedish bitters. Keeps me dancing. And no one bugs me about not having a drink and zero calories. Sedish bitters is essentially a secret tincture of bitter herbs similiar to what you describe. Although no one knows for sure since its siuch a closely gaurded secret
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I've been taking the Large/Great Swedish Bitters made from 22 herbs since August. Maria Treben's formula is for the 11 herb version. I hope to source all the herbs to make that one soon. I'll post a tutorial on it when I do. Here is some info I wrote last month:
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Why use them? Just because they are so darn tasty! That would be enough for me without all the beneficial effects. Said this before. I LOVE bitters.
Totally agree with the last statement regarding the indication that if you don't like the taste of bitters, then you really need them.
Never heard of bitter pills/tablets before. I do think that absorbing part of that bitterness into the mucous membranes is part of the medicinal effect. The bitters increase salivation and lets the stomach know that food is only its way, get ready and get those digestive juices flowing!
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I love bitters, too! And it's such an easy way to improve digestion. They say just a few drops of bitters on the tongue before you eat will get & keep things running smoothly.
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Bitters are something that I've been curious about for years now, but haven't really taken any action on. As I read more about it and follow along on posts like these it just adds to my curiosity (but, alas, still not my follow through). Someday.
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The first time I tried bitters, they were, well, bitter. Now that I've gotten used to them, they are so good.
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I bought a bottle of Peychaud's yesterday. Very disappointed. I can see it being good in cocktails but not as a medicinal bitter. It has too much sweetness and not enough bitter. for my taste buds. Pretty pricey, too. I am going to have to find a cocktail enthusiast to give it to.
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Boy, with all the Christmas goodies I am being gifted with- and am consuming as fast as I can - I need to go dig out that bottle of bitters from the liquor cabinet and start using it!
It's one from Urban Moonshine, the citrus one, I believe.
There's a short video and some educational info here. https://www.urbanmoonshine.com/pages/about-bitters
Guido Mase is an herbalist that I enjoy listening to and reading.
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@judsoncarroll4 i love using my swedish bitters! I was taking them only once a day, but now twice to three times a day I take a teaspoon of them and they are so helpful, not only with digestion, but with ailments as well.
@torey I agree, they are really tasty! We just got in some Peychaud's at work yesterday. I work in a Gourmet Kitchen and Gift store. Good to hear your opinion on them. I probably won't buy any, because they are pricey and I will make my own. :)
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They are amazing. I saved the herbs from my tincture and make tea with a spoonful a day, too... also great for compresses, poultices, bruises and such. 22 herbs is strong medicine!
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I've only had Peychaud's in a cocktail. Being part Cajun and Creole, I LOVE the food and drink of Louisiana, but it is often too sweet or overly seasoned. I think, if you are born and raised in a port town that has been soaked in sugar and spices for centuries, the taste buds become jaded. So, I always cut back on the sugar and salt in most any recipe from the region. For instance, I DO NOT put sugar in my collard greens, and I'll take straight bourbon over Southern Comfort any day!!
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You saved the herbs from the tincture? I never thought of doing that.
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Yeah, even after a month, they are still strong in flavor!
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@judsoncarroll4 Sugar in collard greens????? Never heard of that and can't imagine! I like a tiny bit of aged balsamic syrup drizzled over greens but sugar? And I'm with you on unsweetened alcohol. Just a wee nip of straight whisky for this girl. Its a no to the Southern Comfort.
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Oh yeah, a fairly typical collard recipe in that style would start with cooking down onions, garlic, peppers and celery in some oil, add chopped collards, chicken broth, sugar and salt, creole seasoning and usually some smoked meat. It is a VER different way of doing greens. In my family, we just cook collards in fatback or bacon grease and season with hot pepper vinegar. A lot of folks throughout the south though, use broth and sugar. In Mississippi and Alabama, they seem to put sugar in everything!
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I use bitters for a better mood. When I have enough of Corona news and have to change plans for a hundredth time, because of lockdowns, I take a tea spoon of bitter and then I just say: OK it’s important that we are healthy. One day it will b over 😊. I have read that bitters are used to treat even clinical depression. May be. But bitters definitely improve the mood.
concerning sugar, I have read that bitters loose their healing qualities when they come in contact with sugar. Sweet bitters no good for improving the mood 😉
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So, when you strain the herbs from the vodka, do you keep any of the alcohol on them to cover them, or do you you only keep the herbs? How do you store them? I'm so sad, I didn't think of doing that. I composted mine. Ugh!
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I squeeze out what I can, but they are still soaked in vodka, then just seal them up in a jar. That way, when I make tea, it is almost a double extract.
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Next time.... Thanks for the information.
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Making my mouth water.
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I need to learn to make and explore different flavors of bitters.
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Is there a simple, bitters recipe one could use to get started on using bitters?
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@vickeym Following is a link to a page on vinegar bitters by Rosalee with a recipe for Digestive Bitters with Strawberry & Chamomile. It is a fairly mild bitters and because it is in vinegar it makes an excellent base for salad dressings. Its a good introduction to bitter taste if you aren't accustomed. I have made this recipe but just used all ACV cause I didn't have any balsamic the day I was making it. I have some frozen strawberries for my next batch. I might do this with raspberries as well, although it may need a stronger bitter component cause I think the raspberries might overpower the other flavours in the recipe.
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torey Thank you for the recipe. We do use Fire cider and I have a hyssop oxymel I use on occasion. But I really need to add more bitters, especially to help curb the sugar cravings. I am a total sweets junkie.
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