Bitters

Well I guess I better start as mean to go on sharing my learning with the wide world.
My February task from sarah was all about bitters. What a wonderful way of getting top know and learn all about these wonderful herbs that are fantastic for the digestive tract.
The digestive process starts in the mouth , receptors on the tongue pick out the taste of the traditional senses which are bitter , sweet, sour and salty. It is the taste of bitter herbs that sets of a reaction all the way through the digestive tract.

The mouth, stomach and small intestine all contain glands that produce enzymes that help to breakdown the food. The mouth contains saliva which contains amylase which starts breaking down starches. The stomach contains gastric juices this contains the  enzymes pepsin and renin that breakdown protein and hydrochloric acid. It then heads to the small intestine which has pancreatic juice , this has many enzymes including tripsin , lypase and amylase. Tripsin breaks down protein , lypase breaks down fats and amylase turns startches into sugar. The small intestine also contains bile produced by the liver. Bile contains salts that emulsify fats so thay can be absorbed, it also carries ways products from the liver to the intestine so that it can be excreted from the body.
The taste of bitters sets off a reaction that increases or levels out the amount of digestive juices , thus aiding digestion and helping clear the liver of waste products.  Bitters can ease digestion, bloating and can also ease symptoms of IBS (Irratable bowl syndrome). They are wonderful cleansing herbs for the digestive system on a whole.
My first practical task (how I love these) was to make a grapefruit apertif. I have never been a lover of grapefruit until now. It was simple boil the skins of a couple of grapefruits in water and then again with the same water, then boil this until it reduces by a third then stir in equal amounts of sugar and let it dissolve. Once this mixture has cooled add the same volume of vidka and voila grapefruit apertif. It tastes absolutely amazing. I have been drinking about a shot everyday before my evening meal and have been a lot less bloated. My friends and family who have tried it have also loved it. Which is great as I now know what there birthday presents will be this year.
I also made a bitter tincture using dandelion root, ginger and citrus peel. I have only bottled this up today and its very strong although has a nice orange taste to it thankfully as This makes it palatable- but only just!

The following herbs have bitter properties.

• Ginger
• Dandelion
• Chamomile
• Horseradish
• Fennel
• Thyme
• Calendula
• Borage
• Elder
• Lemon balm

I will definately experinting more over the upcoming months as bitter greens start to appear around me with the fast approaching spring.