Name: Ale Bitters
Ingredients: 4 ounces of gentian root; 4 ounces of fresh lemon peel; 1 gallon of ale

Ale Bitters

Ingredients

4 ounces of gentian root
4 ounces of fresh lemon peel
1 gallon of ale

Directions

Steep

Combine the gentian root and lemon peel in a large container.
Pour the ale over the ingredients.
Let the mixture steep for 10 days.

Strain and bottle

Strain the mixture through a bag.
Bottle and cork the bitters for use.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Gentian root: Provides the intensely bitter flavor that defines the bitters.
Lemon peel: Adds bright citrus aroma and a touch of acidity to balance the bitterness.
Ale: Acts as the solvent that extracts flavor from the botanicals and carries it.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.