Swedish bitters, also called Swedish tincture, is a

bitter Bitter may refer to: Common uses * Resentment, negative emotion or attitude, similar to being jaded, cynical or otherwise negatively affected by experience * Bitter (taste), one of the five basic tastes Books * '' Bitter (novel)'', a 2022 nove ...

and a traditional herbal tonic, the use of which dates back to the 15th century.Original Big Swedish Bitters that contain 22 herbs, here is the link to this perticular product

Maria Treben Maria Treben Günzel (27 September 1907, in Žatec, Bohemia – 26 July 1991, in Grieskirchen, Austria) was an Austrian writer and herbalist who came to fame in the 1980s for her books. Early life Treben was born in 1907 in Žatec, Bohemia, then ...

,
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. . First edition : 1983.

Origins

Swedish bitters is said to have been formulated in a similar way to ancient

bitters Bitters (plural also ''bitters'') is traditionally an alcoholic preparation flavored with botanical matter for a bitter or bittersweet flavor. Originally, numerous longstanding brands of bitters were developed as patent medicines, but now are ...

Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. He w ...

and rediscovered by 18th century Swedish medics Dr. Klaus Samst and Dr.

Urban Hjärne Urban Hjärne (20 December 1641 – 10 March 1724) was a Swedish chemist, geologist, physician and writer. Biography He was born at Skworitz near Nyenschantz in Swedish Ingria. He was the son of vicar Erlandus Jonæ Hiærne (1596–1654) ...

, though this appears to be mistaking the latter for his son, Kristian Henrik Hjärne, who himself invented a bitter.''Origin of Swedish bitters''
"Herkunft des Schwedenbitters". In modern times, Swedish bitters have been popularized by

, an Austrian herbalist. The tonic is claimed to cure a large number of ailments, and to aid digestion. These claims are presented with little in the way of scientific evidence to support them, though

empirical evidence Empirical evidence for a proposition is evidence, i.e. what supports or counters this proposition, that is constituted by or accessible to sense experience or experimental procedure. Empirical evidence is of central importance to the sciences and ...

provides for a very large database of positive results.

Components

The alcoholic ''Swedish bitters'' is purported to have a similar flavor to ''

Angostura bitters Angostura bitters () is a concentrated bitters (herbal alcoholic preparation) based on gentian, herbs, and spices, by House of Angostura in Trinidad and Tobago. It is typically used for flavouring beverages or, less often, food. The bitters wer ...

'', though perhaps drier. Nowadays, it is more common to prepare Swedish bitters from a dry herbs mixture

Ingredients

The following herbs are added to alcohol to make Swedish bitters: *

aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Accessed on: 06 Nov 2022 The most wid ...

as active ingredient * water extract of the following herbs: ** angelica root (''

Angelica archangelica ''Angelica archangelica'', commonly known as garden angelica, wild celery, and Norwegian angelica, is a biennial plant from the family Apiaceae, a subspecies of which is cultivated for its sweetly scented edible stems and roots. Like several oth ...

'') ** camphor (''

Cinnamomum camphora ''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel. Description ''Camphora officinarum'' is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern ...

'') ** carline thistle root (''

Carlina acaulis ''Carlina acaulis'', the stemless carline thistle, dwarf carline thistle, or silver thistle, is a perennial dicotyledonous flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to alpine regions of central and southern Europe. The specific name ''aca ...

'') ** manna (''

Fraxinus ornus ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergr ...

'') **

myrrh Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus ''Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mi ...

** rhubarb root (''

Rheum palmatum ''Rheum palmatum'' is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family Polygonaceae. It is commonly called Chinese rhubarb, ornamental rhubarb, Turkey rhubarb or East Indian rhubarb. ''Rheum palmatum'' is a herbaceous perennial related to th ...

'') **

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...

** senna (''

Senna alexandrina ''Senna alexandrina'' (Alexandrian senna, in Arabic عشرج or عشرق or سنامكي and see below) is an ornamental plant in the genus '' Senna''. It is used in herbalism. It grows natively in upper Egypt, especially in the Nubian region, an ...

'') ** theriac venetian (

theriac Theriac or theriaca is a medical concoction originally labelled by the Greeks in the 1st century AD and widely adopted in the ancient world as far away as Persia, China and India via the trading links of the Silk Route. It was an alexipharmic, o ...

) (a mixture of many herbs and other substances) ** zedoary root (''

Curcuma zedoaria ''Curcuma zedoaria'' (zedoary, white turmeric, or temu putih) is a perennial herb and member of the genus ''Curcuma'', family Zingiberaceae. The plant is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia but is now naturalized in other places including th ...

'') There are variations on this recipe and herbal shops supply

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

and non-alcoholic versions of the drink.''Ingredients of the original Swedish bitters''
″Zusammensetzung des Original Schwedenbitters″, german.

's book contains nine pages on this bitter, with a description of many ailments and their cures.

References

{{portalbar, Liquor Herbalism Bitters Pharmacognosy