RECIPE: Rec: Sbiten-- Ancient Russian Winter Drink

RECIPE:
R

richard-in-cincy

Well-known member
Fascinating. I haven't tried this having just stumbled upon it looking for something else. None of my Russian cookbooks mention it.

Sbiten, also sbiten' (Russian: ñáèòåíü, also çáèòåíü) is a hot winter Russian traditional drink. First mentioned in Slavonic chronicles in 1128, it remained popular with all stratas of Russian society until the 19th century when it was replaced by tea. It is being revived in the 21st century as a mass-produced drink in Russia.

Like mead and medovukha, sbiten' is based on honey mixed with water and spices. One recipe of sbiten' is described in the 16th-century Domostroy. Compared to kvass, sbiten' is very simple to prepare. Separately, honey and sbiten' flavor (spices, juices) are boiled down and then these two parts are combined and boiled again.

Recipes

The basic recipe for Sbiten:

3 1/2 cups water

2 cups honey

3 cinnamon sticks

2-3 cardamom pods, seeds removed, toasted and crushed

1/3 Tsp ground ginger

1 TBS whole cloves

2 dried chili peppers (optional)

2 TBS raspberry or apricot jam

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a slow boil over medium heat. Whisk continuously to insure honey is well mixed. Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature. Strain liquid through cheesecloth into an airtight container for storage and refrigerate until ready to bottle. Serve hot.

Variations:

"Tzar's" Sbiten: ingredients: honey, sugar, red bilberry, blueberry and blackberry; sweet clover, inula, salvia, thyme, spices.

"Sbiten Boyarsky" ("Boyar" Sbiten): ingredients: honey, sugar, cranberry, blackberry; melissa, sweet clover, thyme, spices.

"Moscovsky" Sbiten: ingredients: honey, sugar, red bilberry, blueberry; melissa, sweet clover, thyme, spices.

And another:

Ingredients

10 cups water

1 pound berry jam (16 ounces)

½ cup honey

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cloves

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Procedure

Measure the water into a large pot and heat until the water boils.

Stir in jam, honey, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon.

Simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Ladle into mugs and serve hot.

Serves 10 to 12.

 
This is interesting, Richard- and I have tasted a version made with orange flavoring

not sure if it was orange marmalade or concentrate but orange for certain. Cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, chili pepper, honey- all in it. A very old friend (it was the 1970s and she was 90+) made it for me. She was from Russia, came to the states with her large family when she was 5. She told me her relatives would make a quick hot drink by pouring boiling water over fruit jam in a glass and adding spices. She also told me that Sbiten was often made with wild mint and dried St John's Wort along with cloves, cinnamon, etc.

 
Fascinating. And what a great memory for you...

I've been researching it, and apparently it's ancient and fell out of vogue and everyone began drinking tea, but it's making a come back. The "Red Square" restaurant in Moscow has this description of it on their menu:

Moscow Sbiten', one of the ancient Russian beverages, appeared on Russia long before the tea and coffee. Were prepared sbiten' from the honey and treacles with the addition of cinnamon, carnation, mint, nutmeg and other spices.

Carnation??? Now there's a flavor I haven't experimented with. I'll have to try some this summer from my garden.

 
Believe it or not, I found a page on Sbiten' in "The Art of Russian Cuisine" by Anne Volokh...

I bought this cookbook for 50 cents at a library book sale 10 years ago. Never paid attention to the Sbiten' recipe, just happened to look it up after your post, and I found a very detailed description of it and it's tradition. I'll re-type it here (wish I could just scan it), because I think you will enjoy the additional tid-bits about it. BTW, Mark is right, vodka is added to it. There's a lot to type, so please pardon the typos...

The drink is subtitled "Hot Spiced Honey Drink"

A quote from Tolstoi's "Peter The Great" precedes the description:

"Steam rose from the wooden roofs, from the drying street; the puddles were bottomless wells of blue. Bells were ringing; it was Sunday, the first Sunday after Easter. Street vendors selling pies and hot sbiten' cried their wares"

Next is the description of the drink:

"Sbiten' is a very old drink made with honey and spiced with ginger, cloves, and nutmeg, then braced with vodka. Before the reign of tea in Russia, which began in the seventeenth century, sbiten' and vzvarets (mulled wine) were the primary party drinks. To accompany them, "chasers" of two kinds were served: for men, such appetizers as caviar, smoked sturgeon, pirozhki, brined mushrooms; for women, candied apple mousse, dried preserves, Kiev-style, candied fruits, nuts, raisins, and so on.

"During the long Russian winters, sbiten' was also the favorite drink of the man on the street, and it became the third estate's equivalent of mulled wine. Street vendors sold it to freezing cabbies, to the civilian army of office clerks, to merchants. It could be bought from booths as well, where it was continuously heated in samovars. In summer it was replaced by kvas as a popular drink.

"Sbiten' is good to serve with pirozhki and other hearty dishes".

Next comes the recipe:

Recipe: serves 6

12 whole cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons coarsley chopped fresh ginger root
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1-inch stick cinnamon
Rind of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup vodka
6 tablespoons honey

Place the spices and lemon rind in a small bowl, pour the vodka over them, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. (Yes, this cookbook says "plastic wrap". The book was published in 1983). Infuse at room temperature overnight, then strain through 4 layers of cheesecloth.

In a 2-quart saucepan, boil the honey with 5 1/2 cups of water, stirring until the honey is completely blended. Remove from the heat, add the spiced vodka, and pour into mugs.

Marianne's comments:

We make a mulled wine to serve to winter-time visitors to our winery. Whe I heat the brew, I use a thermometer to make sure the mixture doesn't get so hot that the alcohol boils off...that takes all the fun out of it. The BP of alcohol is 180 degrees, (if I remember), so I only warm the drink up to about 130-140 (F) and keep a lid on it, to keep the steam, and the alcohol, from evaporating. I have a Corning Ware tea pot with a lid that works perfectly to trap the rising steam and sends it back into the pot. So be careful when you add the vodka to the warmed honey, or you'll lose the kick!

The weather has finally turned cold, and there's honey (and vodka) in the pantry, so tomorrow we drink sbiten'! Thanks, Richard, for another great culinary adventure!

PS I know this is a very long post, but I would like to add one more comment: if you wish to learn a great deal about Russian history, I hightly recommend Edward Rutherfurd's "Russka, The Novel of Russia" which encompasses 1800 years of Russian history. It follows four families from the Tatars to the Revolution and beyond. The story is spellbinding.

Enough for tonight.

 
Marianne, THANK YOU...

for sharing this wonderful information. I just love finding old traditions and recipes like this, and it is always a delight when a new one crops up. Just wished I'd stumbled upon this last month when we were doing the mulled wines, artillery punches, and the like for the Christmas season. I can't wait to try these...now I just have to wait to grow those darn carnations! LOL I wonder if they will work dried since this is such a winter drink...

Thanks also for the tip about the temp of the mulled wine. I try to be careful about that very thing, but never use a thermometer. I guess it's time.

AND I just realized I have this very cookbook and never saw this recipe in it!

Have you tried any of the kvass recipes? The one with lemon is very nice as is the cranberry.

I've always "been going to" try and bake a special spiced loaf of Russian Black Pumpernickel to use to make kvass. Apparently that was how the Egyptions made their beer, from specially baked loaves of bread. One of these days...

 
Richard, I transfer the mulled wine to a thermal carafe to keep it hot and potent for serving...

unless one has a samovar. (I would not be surprised to learn that you own one, LOL).

You are quite welcome! This forum offers such a wonderful wealth of knowledge to its members. We sure are lucky to have it. No, I haven't tried the kvas, but thanks for the recommendation.

Also, thank you very much for your PM and the German cookbook info. I owe you a better reply, and will continue later.

 
Thanks so much for the Rutherford book suggestion. Checking out the library today. My Mom grew up

in Russia. They were Germans who were brought over a long time ago to help "civilize" Russia. They lived in German villages and spoke German. That is, until the revolution. I can't wait to find this book.

 
Richard, I bet they made their Sbiten with dried carnation---fresh would not have been available?

 
Did any of you eer make that "Russian Tea" concoction with Tang and instant tea? Always wondered

why this was called Russian, but now I see that it is maybe distantly related to the flavors of Sbiten?

 
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