Sbiten. Recipe

Sbiten along with tea or wine is a very ancient drink. In Russia it was popular during fairs and festivals, especially in the winter, because it is customary to drink it hot. Sbiten is a honey drink, which is prepared with various spices and herbs. Often, it adds and berries or lemon. Very useful sbiten with a decoction of ginger.

History and technology

The first mention of this kind of tea dates back to the XII century, where it was nicknamed "popular hot drink".In winter, it warmed and supplied the body with all the necessary vitamins, and in the summer it was used chilled. Due to the fact that the recipe includes herbs, this drink is very useful and has a toning effect. Sbiten, whose recipe is very simple, depending on the ingredients, was a cure for all sorts of ills. In ancient Russia it was prepared in special vessels, called "baklaga".They were like samovars, in which the drink was always hot because of the coals inside.

How to cook sbiten

Depending on how the sbit

en is made, it can be simple and custard. The latter is an intoxicating drink, as it is obtained after fermenting honey and molasses with herbs. You do not need to have any special skills in order to make a sbiten. The recipe assumes the use( without fail) of honey and various herbs. Choose spices at your own discretion, although there are already established combinations.

Cold sbiten

Boil water, dissolve honey, spices and hops in it and boil for another two hours. After that, cool and strain. You can pour the sbiten into a carafe and put it in the refrigerator. For a liter of water you need: 250 grams of honey( you can take any variety), 5 grams of hops and a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon and cloves( it is convenient to use whole, since small grains can stay).

Sbiten with burnt

It is a sbiten, the recipe of which is also based on honey, but with the addition of burnt sugar. It is prepared as follows. In a container of water put honey at the rate of 2 teaspoons per glass of water, then boil for 20-30 minutes. After that, you can add spices: cinnamon, cloves, caraway seeds, bay leaf. Boil another 10 minutes. In a tablespoon, melt the sugar to a dark color on the fire. Strain honey-spice mixture and add caramel. Such sbiten is drunk hot.

Sbiten berry

This recipe does not use honey, berry juice is taken instead. In a saucepan mix water and juice in a ratio of 8: 1 and boil for 2-3 hours, from time to time removing the foam. Of the herbs, add mint, St. John's wort and sage. You can serve both hot and cold.

Fir Sbiten

Such sbitene, the recipe of which is based on natural needles, is very useful in ARI.For its preparation, you need 100 grams of fir branches, 250 grams of honey( it is better to take buckwheat), as well as sage or ginger. Honey is dissolved in water and let it boil, after which add spices and twigs and let it infuse for at least an hour or two, drain. You can serve. I want to believe that such a wonderful drink, like sbiten, will again become popular in the country where he was so loved in the past.