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The online cookbook for entertaining and gourmet recipes. |
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Absinthe
A.K.A Fee verte (French) Absinth(e) is a highly alcoholic (42-72% proof) distilled spirit flavored with a variety of herbs but mainly the flowers and leaves of wormwood (Artemisia absenthium), fennel, anise and angelica. Absinth taste similar to other anise liqueurs and spirits such as Ricard and Pastis but is slightly biter and has a more herb infused flavor. Absinthe has a greenish pale color and is sometimes called “la fee verte” (French for the green fairy). Absinth originated in Switzerland as an tincture for medicinal uses but rose to fame during 19th century as the “in” drink among artists and intellectuals in Paris. At the height of it’s popularity absinthe was considered addictive drug and subsequently was banned in a number of European countries including Switzerland in 1915. The spirit that was originally produced in the Val-de-travers, Canton of Neuenburg (Neuchatel) in the Jura, close to the French border, made a revival in the 1990’s when studies showed absinth was not more a psychoactive drug than any other spirit. Although Absinth was banned all these years there seemed to be never a shortage of stories of the famed “green fairy” such as when a restaurant served and absinth glazed souffle during an official visit of the French premier. The news went out and simply triggered more calls for the re-legalization of Absinthe. Like Pernod, Ricard and Pastis, Absinthe has a high alcohol content. Typically absinthe is served with iced water and a cube of sugar. The guest is to prepare the drink by himself by placing a slotted s serving spoon (Absinth spoon) across the serving glass. The sugar is placed on top of the slotted spoon and the ice water is poured over the sugar and into the glass, diluting the strongly alcoholic absinth, and changing its color to pale yellow to off white, cloudy. The addition of the sugar is supposed to take the bitterness out of the drink, while the water let’s the drink “blossom” or awaken before it is consumed. Swiss manufacturers although claim that modern Absinthe does not need the added sugar anymore. The slotted spoon (Absinth spoon) and typically produced Absinth glasses have popular pieces in collections.
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