What is the ancient Russian sbiten: history and ancient recipes

All people familiar with the Old Slavic history, faced with the name of the ancient drink. But what is the Old Russian sbiten, for sure, very few people know. Versions walk a lot. Assumptions fluctuate between a certain similarity of kvass and the analog of grog. As always, these hypotheses are far from the truth and do not give correct ideas about such a drink as the ancient Russian sbiten. We will discuss this in our article. Perhaps, having understood the question, people will decide to return to the old traditions.

What is the Old Russian sbiten: historical information

The first written references to the drink are found in the chronicles of Rusich dating back to the 12th century. Sbiten was widely used on folk festivals: in winter - in hot form, in summer - in cold, being popular along with kvass. Especially significant can be considered hot sbiten, because it included honey and broths of medicinal herbs, so that could be considered a great anti-cold prophylaxis. The closest likeness of the drink can be considered mulled wine - with the difference that sbiten did not contain alcohol and was given even to small children. However, there were also "adult" recipes in which the hot components were introduced.

The name went from the word "knock down", which meant the connection of different parts into a single whole. In one container the herbs were insisted, in the other, honey was prepared; The compounds were combined before direct use. Note that this is not the only name that had an Old Russian sbiten. Another name reflects the way of getting the herbal component: "digestion" indicates that the ingredients need to be boiled. A little later, the second name was changed to "vzvar"; Sometimes a drink was called and simply "var".

Somewhat decreased consumption of sbiten after the forced introduction by Peter the Great of drinking tea and coffee. However, people remembered what the Old Russian Sbiten was, and actively used it as early as the beginning of the 20th century. The final point in the history of the drink was posed by the October Revolution: further on, tea with coffee entered the wide circulation, completely replacing the old infusion.

Aboriginal sbiten

Naturally, the drink can be prepared in a variety of ways. Each mistress had her own, individual Old Russian sbiten. The recipe, which came down to us from the depths of the centuries and was the most common, is that a liter of water boils, a third of a glass of honey pours into it - you can even sugar it, the main thing is that it should be natural. Also, a spoon is poured into the sbiten with a hunch of hop, three - crushed peppermint leaves and a little bit of sweet pepper, ginger, cloves and cinnamon. The whole drink is quietly boiled for about half an hour. Drinking is better than hot, but it does not lose any taste, nor benefit, and in a chilled form.

Spicy sbiten

Again, the water boils; Not removing the container from the fire, it puts on 150 grams of sugar and honey. When they dissolve, spices are poured: two leaves of laurel, 0.5 teaspoons of cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, ginger. Boiling is still a quarter of an hour, then the dish is covered and wrapped for half an hour for infusion. After filtering, the sbiten is heated and drunk hot.

Kumushkin Sbiten

This option is preferable to drink cool - sbiten refers to summer drinks. A kilogram of honey is bred in four liters of boiling water, flavored with your favorite spices (here it is even recommended to fully demonstrate culinary creativity) and necessarily - a spoonful of fresh cones of hops. No fresh, you can take and dried, only in half. Boil the drink for two hours, after it fills and cools.

Beer Sbiten

Despite the fact that the basis of this recipe includes beer, you can give the drink to children: alcohol will be evaporated during cooking. Half a liter of water is combined with an equal volume of light beer, half a cup of sugar and a spoonful of peppermint leaves are poured into the liquid (fresh and dry). When the mixture boils, the fire is screwed to a minimum, half a kilogram of honey is pawned, and the sbiten is cooked for another ten minutes. After he insists an hour in a warm place and filtered. You can drink cold and hot. Unlike most varieties of beverage, beer sbiten does not lose its flavor when stored - it will be tasty after a week.

We are sure: people who understand what the Old Sbiten is, will not deny themselves the pleasure of at least once preparing it for themselves. And there, you see, the drink will slowly begin to revive and again become popular and common.