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Fall Digestive Bitters

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herbal bitters in a decanter
Prep Time: 
10 minutes, plus 4 weeks steep time
Number of Servings: 
1 quart-size jar
Recipe Source: 
Foraged & Grown by Tara Lanich-LaBrie ($30, Countryman Press, 2024)

Ingredients

  • Fresh peel of ½ grapefruit, lemon, or orange
  • 1⁄4 cup hawthorn berries
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 slices fresh ginger
  • 1 Tbsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 2 Tbsp organic rose petals
  • 1⁄4 cup anise hyssop flowers or fresh fennel leaves
  • 2 Tbsp fresh or dried calendula flowers
  • A few fresh or dried artichoke leaves
  • Vodka or brandy
  • Honey or other sweetener of your choice (optional)

Directions

  1. Combine fruits, spices, and herbs in a quart-size glass jar and cover with vodka or brandy. Label your jar and allow it to steep for 4 to 6 weeks.
  2. After this time, strain out the fruits, spices, and herbs, reserving the liquid.
  3. Take a dropperful or two 15 to 20 minutes before a meal, or enjoy in a glass of sparkling water, sweetened if you prefer.

Notes

  • Digestive bitters are herbs, flowers, and sometimes mushrooms, infused in alcohol, to be taken before or after meals.
  • Bitters are particularly helpful when eating heavier foods. They stimulate bitter receptors on the tongue, stomach, gallbladder, and pancreas, activating the digestive system to break down food and support the absorption of nutrients.
  • You can swap in vinegar for the vodka or brandy, which will change the flavor but will still work as a bitter.

Foraged & Grown

Healing, Magical Recipes for Every Season

Foraged and Grown is a culinary journey through the seasons with recipes that highlight herbal ingredients and share their use in various historic folk traditions.

From Nettle Gnocchi and Hollyhock Wraps to Rose Roll-Out Cookies and Dandelion Root Drinking Chocolate, readers are in the hands of an expert who alchemizes foraged and grown plants into magic.

Including a detailed plant guide, seasonal organization, and key ingredient swaps to make all recipes accessible, this is the perfect cookbook for anyone curious about the natural world, cooking with more plants, or eating with the seasons.

bookshop.org

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