Anisette’s history, benefits and pleasures • Italia Living

Drink some Sambuca on July 2nd, National Anisette Day – for health, happiness and prosperity.

It’s like a still shot from a Federico Fellini film. An Italian family is gathered around a holiday table, cake crumbs strewn on the tablecloth and steaming espresso cups with freshly brewed black coffee. And passing around from person to person is a bottle of Anisette. It’s traditional to add a drop of anisette to your espresso after dinner.

Anisette is a sweet but powerful liqueur made from anise seeds. called anise anise (pronounced ah-NEE-cheh) is an Italian word that was once native to the Mediterranean and is one of the oldest known spice plants. It was used in Egypt until 1500 BC and is even mentioned in the Bible. Over the centuries, anise has been used for a variety of purposes. To increase milk flow in nursing mothers; To treat epilepsy; It is used as an antidote for snake bites or scorpion stings. And as an aphrodisiac. It was used as a laxative in Native American cultures and is still known today as an appetite suppressant. Some people believed that placing anise under the pillow could ward off nightmares. It has also been used to relieve sore throats, coughs, bronchitis and nasal congestion, and continues to be used in modern medicine as an expectorant in many cough syrups. Anise tastes like licorice, and it’s actually the oil distilled from the plant that adds flavor to licorice candies.

Anise is also known to help with intestinal disorders. The Greek mathematician Pythagoras was the first to note that anise would prevent belching and colic. In Rome, anise was used in sweet cakes to aid digestion at the end of a banquet. And that brings me back to Anisette. The Italian tradition of adding a little anisette to your coffee isn’t just for buzz (I’m sure no one has ever complained about that), but to help you digest the sumptuous meal you’ve just enjoyed.

Anisette is especially popular in the Mediterranean region, where each country has its own version. Spain is aniseTürkiye is northernAnd in France pastis. In Greece, liqueurs are better known as: Ouzo. And in Central and South American countries, you can find it by name. schnapps.

The Italian version of anisette is sambuca. Pronounced sahm-BOO-cah, this liqueur is made from the essential oils of anise, star anise, licorice, and other spices. It also contains elderflower, from which Sambuca gets its name.Sambucus It is a Latin word meaning elderberry. There are two types of sambuca: white and “black,” and in Italian, sambuca is called “black.” nightOr “of the night.” Red and flavored sambuca were introduced a few years ago.

According to the origin story, the first commercial Sambuca was sold by Luigi Manzi of Civitavecchia, Italy in the 1800s.

However, Angelo Molinari began to become popular after World War II when he began producing Sambuca Extra Molinari.

Anisette is enjoyed straight as coffee, but can also be mixed with other liquids, including water. This creates a similar effect to that created by water in absinthe. In other words, it becomes milky. There is another special way that has become part tradition and part cult ritual. with parisIt means “with Paris.” This is when coffee beans are dropped into a sambuca shot. This practice is believed to have originated during the golden age of Italian cinematography. Marcello Mastroianni was drinking with some actors when someone dropped a coffee bean in the actress’ drink. Apparently she likes the taste of coffee beans added to sambuca.

If you request it today Sambuca with Paris At the bar, you can get three coffee beans together, symbolizing health, happiness and prosperity. You might even light it on fire. Don’t forget to blow it out before drinking.