Swedish bitters

Bottle label

Swedish bitters, also called Swedish tincture, is a bitter and a traditional herbal tonic,^[1] that dates back to the 15th century.

Origins

Swedish bitters is said to have been formulated in a similar way to ancient bitters by Paracelsus and rediscovered by 18th century Swedish medics Dr. Klaus Samst and Dr. Urban Hjärne (which must be a mistake for his son Kristian Henrik Hjärne, who did invent a bitter).^[2]

In modern times Swedish bitters has been popularised by Maria Treben, an Austrian herbalist.^[2] The tonic is claimed to cure a large number of ailments and help digestion. These claims are presented with little in the way of scientific evidence to support them; on the other hand empirical evidence provides for a very large database of positive results.^[1]

Components

The alcoholic Swedish bitters is reported as having a similar flavour to Angostura bitters, though perhaps a little drier. Nowadays is more common to prepare Swedish bitters from a dry herbs mixture^[3]

Ingredients

The following herbs are added to alcohol to make Swedish Bitters:

• aloe as active ingredient
• water extract of the following herbs:
  • angelica root (Angelica archangelica)
  • carline thistle root (Carlina acaulis)
  • camphor (Cinnamomum camphora)
  • manna (Fraxinus ornus)
  • myrrh
  • rhubarb root (Rheum palmatum)
  • saffron
  • senna (Senna alexandrina)
  • theriac venetian (theriac) (a mixture of many herbs and other substances)
  • zedoary root (Curcuma zedoaria)

There are variations on this recipe and herbal shops supply alcoholic^[4] and non-alcoholic versions of the drink.

Maria Treben's book contains 9 pages on this bitter, with a description of many ailments and their cures.^[1]

References

1. 1 2 3 (French) Maria Treben, La Santé à la pharmacie du bon Dieu (original title: Gesundheit aus der Apotheke Gottes - Ratschläge und Erfahrungen mit Heilkräutern). Ed. Wilhelm Ennsthaler (http://www.ennsthaler.at/) , Austria. ISBN 3-85068-123-8. First edition : 1983.
2. 1 2 (German) Origin of Swedish bitters "Herkunft des Schwedenbitters".
3. ↑ Swedish bitters mixture ("élixir du suédois"), herb mix for 1,5 l of tincture/bitter.
4. ↑ Ingredients of the original Swedish bitters ″Zusammensetzung des Original Schwedenbitters″, german.