What is Old Russian sbiten and how was it prepared in Rus'? Homemade sbiten - we prepare a Slavic drink ourselves! Ready-made monastic, spicy and honey sbiten at home.

Sbiten is an old drink that came from ancient gray times, for our ancestors it replaced tea and brewed it in every home. There were times of rise and fall of sbitnya, today there are many recipes for making sbitnya at home, both those that came from the depths of centuries and those created recently.

For example, most alcoholic sbiten were created not so long ago, there was even such a thing that they tried to sell it cold in a bottle instead of beer, but sbiten is delicious when hot.

In fact, there is nothing complicated and expensive in preparing sbitnya at home, you can surprise your relatives and friends by serving this drink to them. In this article you can find a huge number of a wide variety of recipes for every taste.

The history of the sbitnya

It is difficult to say exactly when this ancient drink first appeared on the tables of our ancestors. It was probably about a thousand years ago. Chronicles brought us the news that the Grand Duke Vsevolod in 1128, feasting with the boyars, ordered to put on the tables overvar (sbiten). A description of its preparation is given in Domostroy (XVI century) and our other early written monuments.

Foreigners who visited Russia during the time of Peter the Great spoke enthusiastically about sbitna, calling it Russian mulled wine. This comparison arose, obviously, because visiting Dutch and English sailors got acquainted with this drink in establishments where it was prepared with wine. Street vendors made sbiten without wine.

In winter, they carried it on their backs in huge copper vessels in the form of samovars, covered with a warm cloth. They kept the common people warm in the cold.

In the 18th-19th centuries, sbiten became especially widespread. They were traded on the streets, in taverns and tea houses, at bazaars and fairs. Everyone drank it.

Sbiten in culture

Back in the last century, the figure of a sbitennik was very characteristic of the streets of Russian cities. We meet his image on popular prints, old engravings, on the pages of novels and short stories.

Describing a Russian provincial town of the 19th century, N. V. Gogol wrote in Dead Souls: “In the coal of these shops, or better in the window, there was a sbitenka with a red copper samovar and a face as red as a samovar.”

A rare description of Moscow life did without mentioning cheerful sbitenshchikov (sbiten sellers), walking in a crowd of onlookers with copper samovars wrapped in linen so that the drink did not cool down longer, and advertising their goods with verses:

"Ah yes, sbiten-sbitenyok,
Eat girl, boy
Eat and drink
Don't spare money.
Sweet sbiten on honey
Warm up, people, on the go!
Or like this:
“Sbiten is hot, clerks are drinking!
"Sbiten-cbitenyok drinks a dandy!"
"Don't drink a tub of beer, drink a mug of sbitna."
Or like this:
"Here's the bastard! That's hot!
To whom my sbitnu?
Everyone eats it: Both a warrior and a clerk,
footman and runner,
and all honest people.

Sbitnya sunset

Sbiten was prepared and served in vessels resembling a samovar in shape, and poured into pot-bellied cups with the edges turned inside out, which protected them from getting burned. A copper vessel for sbitnya was called sakla or baklaga (depending on the area where it was prepared), in the middle of the vessel, like a samovar, there was a wide pipe filled with hot coals. These containers served as a prototype for future samovars.

• Sbiten was especially appreciated in winter by chilled cab drivers and employees who froze in cold shops.
• Until about the end of the 19th century, sbiten replaced both tea and coffee for the Russian people.
• Gradually, tea and coffee forced sbiten out of the manor houses, but for a long time it remained a favorite drink of the common people, especially in winter, as a warming agent.
• Downed kuren, that was the name of the hut, where they cooked and sold sbiten.

How to cook a real sbiten, which our great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers loved so much? There are a lot of sbitnya recipes, they differ in components, cooking technology. Only honey remains always the same component of the drink.
Sbitni are divided into simple and custard. The latter are obtained by fermenting the must from honey and molasses with various seasonings. In this case, you can get drinks like low-hop honey, mash, beer.
They usually drank sbiten with rolls and gingerbread.

www.eat-me.ru

Recipes

Recipe for the original Russian (Moscow) sbitnya

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of white molasses;
• 200 g of honey;
• 5 cloves;
• 2 g cinnamon;
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger;
• 10 black peppercorns;
• 6-8 cardamom capsules;
• 3 star anise;
• 5-6 liters of boiling water.

Cooking:

• dissolve molasses and honey in boiling water (it can be added later, to a chilled liquid up to 40 degrees - so it does not lose its beneficial qualities) and cook for 15 minutes;
• add all the spices and cook for another 10 minutes;
• after, pour hot and drink like tea.

For our ancestors (Eastern Slavs), sbiten was for quite a long time instead of tea. When cheap Chinese tea poured into Russia, they forgot about sbitna.

There was a strong decline after the October Revolution, apparently the Bolsheviks were not comfortable drinking folk drinks. Later, already in the days of the USSR, they tried to promote sbiten to the masses already in glass bottles, like beer. The idea, of course, failed - have you ever seen tea rolled into bottles (cold plastic does not count)? Sbiten is good because it is hot and fresh.

As mentioned earlier, this drink should not be confused with honey. Meda - drinks brewed from honey, water, spices and hops, and then infused, mead beer in general. Sbiten itself is a non-alcoholic product, but if desired, dry red wine or vodka can be added to it. That's right, you get something similar to mulled wine or the same grog. Below I will provide you with a few simple recipes with which you can easily cook sbiten at home.

therumdiary.ru

Spicy sbiten

Since ancient times, sbiten has been popular in Rus' as a drink that can warm you up on cold winter evenings around Christmas or in Epiphany frosts.

And for good reason! After all, the ingredients that make up its composition can have not only a warming, but also a healing effect.

So let's get started! Let's cook a warming sbiten!

Ingredients

To prepare 2 servings of spicy sbiten you will need:

• 150 g of honey;
• 150 g of sugar;
• a pinch of cinnamon and ginger;
• 0.5 g coriander;
• 0.5 g of cloves;
• 700 ml of water.

Cooking sbitnya

• Boil water and let cool to 50-60 degrees. Then add honey, sugar and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
• After 10-15 minutes, add spices, remove from heat and let it brew for 15 minutes.
• Strain the resulting sbiten and pour into cups.
• If desired, wine, cognac, lemon, tea or spices can be added to sbiten.

Bon appetit!

Sbiten "Winter"

Cooking time: 80 minutes
Servings: 6
Purpose:

• For children
• Competitive recipes: Competition “Sweet! Festive! Mistral!"
• For lunch
• For an afternoon snack
• On the festive table: New Year / Christmas
• For dinner
• Special food: Lenten food

Ingredients for "Sbiten "Winter"":

• Water - 1.5 l
• Rosehip (dried) - 2 tbsp. l.
• Figs - 2 pcs
• Raspberries (dried) - 3 tbsp. l.
• Melissa (dried)
• Cinnamon (sticks) - 2 pcs
• Cane sugar (universal from TM Mistral) - 80 g
• Honey - 2 tbsp. l.
• Carnation - 5 pcs
• Allspice - 3 pcs
• Ginger (dried) - 1/2 tsp

www.povarenok.ru

Suzdal sbiten: useful properties and recipes

If you want to try the real Sbiten today, go to the city of Suzdal. You will get double pleasure: enjoy the unique beauty of the ancient city, which is beautiful in any weather, and at the same time treat yourself to a honey drink that was once very popular in Rus', which today can be found in cafes and restaurants of the city. This light golden bee honey drink with spicy aromas of lime blossom, cinnamon, nutmeg, raspberries, cranberries and junipers, thyme and St.

• Yes, and it was simply the most popular hot drink, which cheerful, loudly inviting and praising every recipe, sbitenki offered everywhere on the streets and squares of ancient cities.
• This is easy to understand. Indeed, today, perhaps, one cannot find a person who would not know what hot tea is. But in Rus' there was no tea before.
• And it was completely replaced by sbiten. True, over time, many recipes for making folk sbitnya were forgotten, love for him faded, displaced by the previously unseen tea that appeared on the table of Russians.

Fortunately, nothing disappears without a trace. And now the times have come again when many remembered the ancient Russian healthy drink and revived the old recipes. In the meantime, we are not yet in the glorious city of Suzdal, it is easy to prepare a warming wonderful drink sbiten yourself, based on one of the recipes that will be discussed later.

Suzdal sbitnya recipes

As well as water and spices. Healing fragrant field and forest herbs, berries, flowers and leaves (that is, everything that can be used fresh or from summer preparations) play an important role in the composition of the Suzdal sbitnya.

Combining components in various ratios, you can get an infinite number of recipes. The only thing you need to pay attention to is the selection and quantity of medicinal herbs used in medicinal recipes.

Without knowing reliably about the properties of a particular herb, especially with a potent pharmacological effect, it is necessary to strictly adhere to the recipe (their concentration in the drink is usually minimal) and apply them according to indications.

For example, hawthorn flowers and berries affect blood pressure and are used for heart disease, hops act as a sleeping pill, juniper berries are a strong medicinal plant, overdoses of which are dangerous, etc. The main thing here is not to overdo it.

• prepare a decoction of spices, let it brew and filter
• stir in the honey
• pour into glasses and mugs - and a delicious drink is ready.

You can use a slightly different method of preparation.

Sbiten Suzdal - a native Russian drink

Ingredients:

• water - 1 l
• honey - 70-80 g
• cinnamon - 1 tsp
• bay leaf - 2 pcs.
• ginger - ½ tsp
• cloves - 5 pcs.
• cardamom - 6 seeds

Put honey in hot water and boil for 20 minutes, removing foam from the surface. We measure the right amount of spices and pour it there. Cook for another 5 minutes. Strain hot broth and serve.

To get a beautiful color and to enrich the taste, sbiten can be tinted with burnt sugar (to do this, melt 6 tablespoons of sugar on a hot stove in a metal bowl until dark, pour it with a small amount of water to dissolve the burnt and then pour it into a drink).

With this method, of course, the beneficial properties of honey are partially lost (as you know, they are destroyed when heated, and even more so when cooked). But, probably, the honey in this old recipe was not used for treatment, but, first of all, as an aromatic additive for the taste, sweetness and consistency of the drink.

Juniper Suzdal sbiten

A drink is prepared from juniper berries (very healthy), honey, a set of spices and herbs with a flavor accent on a tart bouquet of aromatic spices.

Compound:

• water - 1 l
• juniper berries - 3-4 tsp
• cinnamon, cloves, sweet peas - ½ tsp each.
• nutmeg, ginger, coriander - on the tip of a knife
• honey - 2-3 tbsp. l.
• lemon juice

Crush the berries to the state of gruel, pour boiling water and boil for 10 minutes along with spices over low heat. Leave for 10 minutes and strain. Bring water with honey to a boil and add a decoction of berries with spices.

Important: when collecting fruits on your own, it is easy to confuse common juniper berries with the fruits of the Cossack juniper, the berries of which are poisonous and cannot be used in culinary recipes and in the preparation of juniper decoctions and infusions.

Fruit and berry Sbiten with spices

This recipe uses any berries and fruits (raspberries, strawberries, wild roses), lime blossom, spices, citric acid, herbs:

• water - 1 l
• honey - 100 g
• rose hips (dry) - 2 tbsp. l. and rowan fruits - 1 tsp.
• dried raspberries (strawberries, blueberries) - 1 tbsp. l.
• cinnamon - 1 stick
• cardamom - 10 boxes
• star anise - ½ stars
• cloves - 4-5 buds

Optionally, you can also add raisins, dates, dried apricots.

Prepare spices: open cardamom pods, chop cinnamon and star anise. Put spices, berries and dried fruits into boiling water and boil for 10-15 minutes under a lid over low heat to preserve flavors. Strain the slightly chilled drink and add honey to it.

Sbiten mint Suzdal

Mint sbiten is a special pleasure with a delicate aroma and taste of summer. Its composition is traditional: honey, spices, herbs with an emphasis on mint.

• water - 1 l
• fresh mint - 2-3 sprigs
• honey - 4 tbsp. l.
• cloves - 1 tsp
• dried chamomile - ½ tbsp. l.
• cardamom - 1-2 seeds
• cinnamon - 2 tsp

Pour boiling water over herbs and spices and steep for 1 hour. Before mixing with herbal decoction, dissolve honey in hot water.

To prepare the most popular winter drink of the Slavs, of course, you need to work a little. Without special magic and magical witchcraft, it is unlikely that it will be possible to turn the most ordinary honey, water and fragrant spices into something amazing and special, invigorating and blushing cheeks.

superstition

According to ancient legends, raspberry berries and leaves increase vitality and attract love. Flowers and rose hips bring good luck and healing.

• Mint attracts money and opens up travel opportunities. Oregano contributes to the preservation of family and love.
• The needles of pine and fir will bring the energy of prosperity and awaken the ability to bear children. Yarrow will give the gift of foresight and develop intuition.
• Sage will not only heal, but bring well-being. St. John's wort will drive out evil forces and cleanse the hearth.
• The juniper performed the same protective function from evil spirits in Rus'.

Maybe this is not so. But in any case, sbiten is tasty and healthy. And this is not a cup of modern “elixir” for you - tea, when it is enough to throw a bag into a cup and pour boiling water over it. A primordially Russian, warming and fragrant drink!

behoneybee.ru

Sbiten (spicy)

• Sugar - 150 g, honey - 150 g, bay leaf - 2 pieces, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom - 5 g each, water - 1 l.
  Dissolve honey, sugar in boiling water, add bay leaf, spices and boil for 15-20 minutes. Remove heat and leave for 30 minutes.
  Strain through cheesecloth or fine sieve.
  Serve hot.

Sbiten (drunk)

Sugar - 50 g, honey - 100 g, cinnamon - 0.3 g, cloves - 0.2 g, mint - 0.2 g, hops - 3 g.
The method of preparation of this drink is completely similar to that described above.

“Krupnik” old Polish with vanilla

Vodka - 0.5 l, honey - 1 glass, water - 1 glass, vanilla - 1/2 stick, cinnamon - 1 pinch, lemon zest - from 1 lemon.
Boil honey with water, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon zest, remove from heat, add vodka and stir.
Serve very hot in glasses.

Sbiten winter

Water - 4 cups, sugar - 0.5 cups, honey - 5 tbsp. spoons, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf - 1 pc., cardamom - 2-3 pcs.

• Pour 4 cups of water into a saucepan, put on fire and bring to a boil.
• Add half a glass of sugar, 5 tablespoons of honey and various spices (cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf - 1 pc., Cardamom - 2-3 pcs.) To boiling water.
• Boil for 10-15 minutes. Strain.
• Serve hot in a pitcher.

1 kg of white molasses, 200 g of honey, 2 g of cinnamon, 5 cloves, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger, 10 black peppercorns, 5 tbsp. tablespoons of dry mint, 6-8 capsules of cardamom, 3 star anise, 5-6 liters of boiling water.
Dissolve molasses, honey or sugar in boiling water and boil for 15 minutes. Add spices and boil for another 10 minutes.
Drink hot like tea.

city ​​sbiten

• Ingredients:
• - 500 g of honey,
• - 700 g of white molasses (or thick sugar, fructose syrup),
• - 500 g of spices (cinnamon, cloves, hops, mint, etc.),
• - 6 liters of water.

Cooking Boil water and, adding all the ingredients, boil for 30 minutes. Drink hot like tea.

Kumushkin sbiten

Ingredients:

• - 1 kg of honey,
• - 20 g of hops,
• - spices to taste,
• - 4 liters of water.

Dissolve honey in boiling water, add hops and spices and boil for 2-3 hours, filter the boiled sbiten and cool.
This sbiten is consumed cold.

Sbiten Suzdal

Ingredients:

• - 150 g of honey,
• - 150 g of sugar,
• - 1.5 g of cloves, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, bay leaf,
• - 1 liter of water.

Mix honey with water and boil for 20 minutes, add spices and boil for another 5 minutes. Then, strain the drink through cheesecloth and tint with burnt sugar.

Moscow Sbiten

Ingredients:

• - 200 g of honey,
• - 150 g of molasses (or thick sugar, fructose syrup),
• - 1 g cinnamon
• - 2 g each of cloves, hops, nutmeg, allspice,
• - 1 liter of water.

Cooking
Boil honey and molasses together with water, add spices and boil for 5 minutes. Then, let it brew for 30 minutes, strain.

Shrovetide Sbiten

Ingredients:

• - 150 g honey
• - 1.5 - 2 liters of water
• - 100 g sugar
• - 2 - 3 teaspoons of dry St. John's wort
• - 2 cloves
• - 5 - 6 grains of black pepper
• - 0.25 teaspoon of ginger powder
• - 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• - 2 tsp mint

PREPARATION Boil the honey in a saucepan, dilute with 1 glass of water, remove the foam. Separately, boil sugar, diluting with 1 glass of water.
Combine both parts, boil together into a homogeneous mass so that more water evaporates (but over low heat, avoiding a noticeable boil).

In the rest of the water, boil the spices for 15-20 minutes in a closed vessel, let it brew for another 10 minutes, then strain, add the honey-sugar mixture and heat without boiling.

Drink only hot.

• There are a lot of sbitney recipes.
• A variety of sbitni are always welcome drinks, they are served not only at the Shrovetide table.
• Try and invent your own signature recipe for this drink.

Fragrant custard

• 1 kg of honey
• 3 liters of water
• 1 st. a spoonful of yeast
• 40 g hops
• 1 teaspoon of cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1-2 cardamom seeds
• 2-3 shoots of fresh mint.

PREPARATION Dissolve honey in small portions in warm water, mix thoroughly, then, with continuous stirring, boil it over low heat for two hours, removing the foam.

15 minutes before the end of boiling, add hops and spices to honey. Pour the mixture into a clean barrel, and when it cools down, add the yeast diluted in a small amount of water to it.

Seal the barrel and refrigerate for 14 days.
After aging, decant the sbiten and pour into bottles, which should also be stored in the refrigerator.

Raspberry custard

For cooking you will need:

• 1 kg of honey
• 1 kg raspberries,
• 3 l of water,
• 1 st. a spoonful of yeast

PREPARATIONSqueeze juice from raspberries. Pour the pulp with water, bring to a boil, cool, strain. Add honey, heat again to a boil, add squeezed raspberry juice and cool to 35-40°C.
Add the yeast previously diluted in a glass of water to the cooled broth and leave in a warm place to ferment for 8-12 hours.
Then pour into bottles, carefully corking them and refrigerate. In 15-20 days the sbiten will be ready.

Simple sbiten

For cooking you will need:

• 500 g honey
• 700 g of molasses (or thick sugar, fructose syrup),
• 6 liters of water
• 2 tsp cloves
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2-4 cardamom seeds
• 3-6 shoots of fresh mint.

PREPARATION Dissolve honey in boiling water, add molasses, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, mint and leave overnight. Serve warm.

Folk sbiten

For cooking you will need:

• 1 kg of honey
• 4 liters of water
• 20 g hops
• 1 teaspoon of cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1-2 cardamom seeds
• 2-3 shoots of fresh mint.

COOKING
Dissolve honey in boiling water, add hops and spices and boil for 2-3 hours.
Strain boiled sbiten and cool.
This sbiten is consumed cold, like kvass.

Sbiten Suzdal - 2

For cooking you will need:

• 150 g honey
• 6 art. spoons of sugar
• 1 liter of water
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1-2 cardamom seeds
• 2 bay leaves.

Sbiten Vladimirsky

For cooking you will need:

• 200 g honey
• 1 liter of water
• 4 tbsp. spoons of sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1 bay leaf.

PREPARATION Ignite the sugar until brown, cool and dissolve in a small amount of hot water.
Mix honey with water and boil for 20 minutes, add spices and boil for another 5 minutes.
Then strain the drink through gauze and tint with diluted burnt sugar.

Moscow Sbiten

For cooking you will need:

• 200 g honey
• 150 g of molasses (or thick sugar, fructose syrup),
• 1 liter of water
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon hops
• ground nutmeg on the tip of a knife,
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice.

PREPARATION Boil honey and molasses together with water, add spices, hops and boil for 5 minutes. Then let it brew for 30 minutes, strain.

Sbiten with wine

For cooking you will need:

• 50 g honey
• 1 liter dry red wine
• ground cinnamon on the tip of a knife
• 2-3 pcs. carnations,
• ground nutmeg on the tip of a knife.
• COOKING

Bring the wine to a boil, but do not boil, mix together with honey, add spices and let it brew for 30 minutes.
Then strain the drink and serve hot.

Petrovsky drink

COOKING

This drink was loved even under Peter the Great.
Prepare it like this: in bread kvass (prepared on your own, including from concentrate, but not purchased ready-made in the store), put honey, grated horseradish, mix well and put in a cold place for a day.
Then strain through cheesecloth and drink with ice.
For 1 liter of bread kvass: two teaspoons of honey and two or three tablespoons of grated horseradish.

Application
Translation of old Russian measures for calculating weight and volume into modern ones

supercook.ru

Maslenitsa: seeing off the winter with pancakes, tincture and whipping!

In Rus', Maslenitsa was celebrated as a joyful holiday. At the word “Shrovetide”, pictures of merry days, filled with din and noise, delicious smells of pancakes, and the chime of bells that adorned elegant threes, rise before your eyes.

The main and inalienable entertainments of Shrovetide were horseback riding, riding from high ice mountains, fist fights, and the capture of a snow fortress.

The highest point of the celebration was the burning of an effigy of Maslenitsa on the last day of the festivities.
Festive festivities in Rus' are different from modern ones, but the traditional festive table has remained low.

Pancakes are the main treat of Maslenitsa days. According to ancient Slavic beliefs, round and ruddy pancakes lure the warmth and bright sun, and when they eat a pancake that looks so much like the sun, they eat a piece of its warmth and power.
They drink not only vodka on Shrove Tuesday, but also mead, sbitni, tinctures, honey liqueurs, herbal tea, fruit drinks, kvass.

• Choice vodka presented in stores is quite wide: Gray Goose (France), White Birch (Russia), Khlebny Dar (Ukraine), Kazenka (Russia), Tundra (Russia), Kalinka (Russia), etc. But do not forget that you should not abuse this drink. Only in microdoses, vodka in the cold allows you to replenish the energy spent on heating the body.

Tinctures

They are also widely available on store shelves. They are prepared by infusing vodka on various fruits, seeds, spices, fragrant and medicinal herbs.

This drink is less sweet, but stronger than liqueurs, has a pleasant taste and can serve as both an alcoholic drink and a healing elixir: "Honey Bulbash with Pepper" and "Bulbash Linden with Honey", etc.

An old Russian hot drink made from water, honey and spices, which often included medicinal herbal preparations. Hot sbiten has a warming and anti-inflammatory effect, which is why it is so popular at Shrovetide.

Unfortunately, this drink is not mass-produced, so we offer you some simple sbitney recipes at home:

• Sbiten Suzdal: 150 g of honey, 150 g of sugar, 1.5 g of cloves, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, bay leaf, 1 liter of water. Mix honey with water and boil for 20 minutes, add spices and boil for another 5 minutes. Then, strain the drink through cheesecloth and tint with burnt sugar.

• Kumushkin sbiten: 1 kg of honey, 20 g of hops, spices to taste, 4 liters of water. Dissolve honey in boiling water, add hops and spices and boil for 2-3 hours, filter the boiled sbiten and cool. This sbiten is consumed cold.

• city ​​sbiten: 500 g honey, 700 g molasses, 500 g spices (cinnamon, cloves, hops, mint, etc.), 6 liters of water. Boil water and, adding all the ingredients, boil for 30 minutes. Drink hot like tea.

It used to be that if it was bad and boring to spend the Maslenitsa week, then there would be failure during the year, until the next Maslenitsa. Therefore, we STRONGLY recommend: eat and drink deliciously, walk and play, have fun from the heart!

nvt.vl.ru

Beneficial features

The unconditional benefits of an old drink are due to five important factors:

1. Mandatory presence of honey;
2. The constant presence of spices (classic spicy sbiten, as a rule, contains cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, star anise, black or allspice, etc.);
3. A common practice of using fruits (fruit sbiten can include both fresh fruits and dried fruits, an example of which is prunes sbiten);
4. A fairly frequent addition of medicinal herbs (herbal sbiten involves the use of sage, chamomile, St. John's wort, mint, thyme, galangal, etc.);
5. The traditional use of the drink is hot.

Thus, the East Slavic honey elixir can not only have an anti-inflammatory, antiseptic or tonic effect on the body, and also serve as an indispensable remedy for colds, but with the addition of certain ingredients, it can favorably affect the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, liver, cardiovascular, nervous and even reproductive system.

Shelf life

The question of the shelf life of the drink we are interested in is directly related to its variety. A simple hot sbiten, in general, does not imply the possibility of any long-term storage.

• It should be credited within an hour, getting the maximum pleasure from the process.
• If we are talking about drinks designed to be consumed cold or for later heating, then they can be stored quite freely throughout the year.
• At the same time, the main conditions for preservation are: staying in a cool dark room and being in a glass or wooden container.

However, enough theory, it's time to move on to practice.

How to cook sbiten at home. In order to figure out how to cook alcoholic sbiten, it is enough to master a few basic recipes, which you can later modify based on your personal culinary and medical preferences.

Classic recipe

Let's start with how to make that same honey base that can serve as a self-sufficient drink or a field for further experiments. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the ingredients intended for sbitny should be cooked in two or even several separate containers, after which they should be combined (churned) together.

List of ingredients

1. Honey - 300 g;
2. Sugar or molasses - 350 g;
3. Water - 3 l;
4. Spices and herbs - 5-10 g;
5. Vodka or cognac brandy - 500 ml.

Cooking Method

Boil 0.5 and 2.5 liters of water in two separate pots. Boiling water from a smaller container pour spices. Add honey and sugar / molasses to a large saucepan, then boil them over low heat for half an hour, stirring constantly and removing the foam.

Then strain the spicy infusion and add it to the honey-sugar solution removed from the stove. Add alcohol there, mix everything thoroughly and leave to stretch for 15-20 minutes. Consume hot.

To heighten the effect, you can cook a similar sbiten from fermented honey. And you will get pleasure, and you will not have to throw away a valuable product. At the same time, the alcohol component in such a drink can not be added.

Kumushkin or folk sbiten

Now we will tell you how to make sbiten with the addition of hops.

List of ingredients

1. Honey - 1 kg;
2. Fresh hops - 20 g;
3. Spices and herbs - to taste;
4. Water - 4 liters.

Cooking Method

Boil in different containers 0.5 and 3.5 liters of water. Pour boiling water from the first container with spices and herbs. Add honey to the second container and cook for 2 hours over low heat, stirring and removing the foam.

Add hops and continue to boil for an hour. Remove the liquid from the fire, add the filtered infusion to it, mix the result, cool and bottle. Store the drink in the cellar or in the refrigerator. Consume cold or warm.

Monastic

The name of the drink speaks for itself. The monks will not drink anything.

List of ingredients

1. Honey - 1 kg;
2. Fresh hops - 10 g;
3. Spices and herbs - to taste;
4. Strong black or green tea - 100 ml (add after fermentation, see below);
5. Water - 3 liters.

Cooking Method

Prepare a spicy infusion, guided by previous recipes. Boil honey in 2.5 liters of water for three and a half hours. Wrap the hops in a gauze bundle, putting a weighty boiled stone there. Lower the knot into the pan and continue to cook the honey-hoppy substance for another hour, adding water if necessary.

Then mix both strained liquids and place them in a glass fermentation container, placing it in a warm, dark place. At the end of fermentation, add tea to the substance, strain it through thick cheesecloth and bottle it. Before drinking, it is advisable to let the drink rest for about six months in a cool, dark place.

Sbiten beer

A pleasant refreshing drink served cold.

List of ingredients

1. Honey - 100 g;
2. Molasses - 100 g;
3. Beer - 500 ml;
4. Water - 500 ml;
5. Mint - 5 g.

Cooking Method

For 15 minutes, simultaneously brew beer with mint and molasses with honey, sequentially added to boiling water. Next, mix the strained beer with the honey-treacle solution. Leave the resulting drink for an hour at room temperature, then bottle and keep for a week in the refrigerator or cellar.

Raspberry sbiten with liqueur

In principle, this drink does not have to be raspberry. It all depends on the type of fruit used and the liqueur added.

List of ingredients

1. Honey - 150 g;
2. Water - 500 ml;
3. Raspberry liqueur - 250 ml;
4. Raspberry juice - 250 ml;
5. Allspice, cloves, ginger - to taste;
6. Linden blossom, mint, thyme, St. John's wort - to taste.

Cooking Method

Pour boiling water over herbs and spices. At the same time, boil honey in raspberry juice for 10 minutes. After that, boil it for another 5 minutes with liqueur, then mix with filtered water and let it brew for half an hour.

Sbiten wine

This recipe will allow you to prepare not mulled wine with honey, but a honey drink flavored with wine.

List of ingredients

1. Honey - 500 g;
2. Water - 1 l;
3. Dry red wine - 1 l;
4. Spices - to taste.

Cooking Method

In separate containers, heat the wine and boil the water. Add spices to the wine and hold the substance for 10 minutes over low heat, without bringing it to a boil.

• In parallel, add honey to the water and boil the resulting solution for half an hour (this is also done on low heat with constant stirring and removal of foam).
• Then mix the honey base with strained wine and let the drink brew for 15 minutes.

Well, just in case, we remind you that alcoholic sbiten will give you benefits and fun only with its moderate use.

vzboltay.com

Benefit and harm.

The history of sbitnya officially dates back almost nine centuries, but it is believed that it appeared long before it was mentioned in the annals.

Since ancient times, the Slavs have been preparing sbiten based on honey with the addition of herbs and spices. He warmed in winter and quenched thirst on hot summer days, was a therapeutic and prophylactic agent.

A variety of tastes and health benefits of sbiten led to its widespread use. The people who brewed and sold sbiten - sbitenshchiki - became the heroes of folklore, which confirms the wide distribution and popularity of the drink.

• Sbiten, along with herbal decoctions and infusions, replaced our ancestors with tea and other drinks that appeared later, as well as medicines for colds, stomach ailments, nervous and mental strain and other ailments.
• It was cooked in various ways with the addition of herbal preparations and certain spices.
• A large number of recipes, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, have survived to this day.
• At the same time, not only the taste, but also the effect of the drink on the human body depends on the ingredients used.

Sbiten composition and ingredients

The composition of sbitnya usually includes honey, water, sugar and spices. For medicinal purposes, herbal preparations are added to the drink.

Honey is a biologically active product that contains vitamins of group B, vitamins C and PP. Honey is rich in macro- and microelements, it has a high content of potassium, calcium, chlorine, phosphorus, iron and other minerals.

For the prevention and treatment of various diseases, sbiten on herbs and spices is useful.

• Traditionally in Rus', sbiten was cooked with sweet clover, thyme, oregano, chamomile, mint, St. John's wort, elecampane, sage, using herbs.
• Pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves, bay leaf are often added from spices.
• Each person can become the author of his own unique recipe.
• In addition to spices and spices, roots, fruits and berries can be added to honey water, which will not only affect the taste, but also increase the beneficial properties of the drink.

Due to honey, sugar and alcohol (in blends with the addition of wine), such a drink is a fairly high-calorie product and is characterized by a high sugar content and a significant amount of carbohydrates.

Useful properties of sbitnya

The medicinal properties of sbitnya are due to the ingredients that make up its composition, including the type of honey used. The spectrum of action is quite wide: from disease prevention to therapeutic action in the form of auxiliary (additional) therapy.

In various formulations, it can be used as a tonic or, conversely, to achieve a sedative and calming effect.

Herbs help to enhance the healing properties. Sbitni based on herbal decoctions can prevent the onset of a cold, dilate blood vessels, improve blood circulation and metabolism, and have a positive effect on digestion, brain activity, the cardiovascular and nervous systems.

• Generations of our ancestors have proven the benefits of sbitn for respiratory diseases: the drink can have an antitussive effect, for example, when adding elecampane.
• The same elecampane, as well as sage, thyme and some other herbs in the sbiten give it anti-inflammatory properties.
• If the drink is brewed, for example, with Ivan-tea and ginger, then it will have a therapeutic effect on the body with alcohol intoxication (hangover).

Contraindications

• Like any medicinal product, sbiten can only be consumed in moderate doses.
• Biologically active honey, herbs and spices are strong allergens, so sbiten is contraindicated for those who may experience an allergic reaction.
• All contraindications defined for alcoholic beverages apply to alcoholic drinks.

No matter how useful sbiten and its effect on the body, people with disorders of the cardiovascular system, liver, kidneys, diabetes and other chronic diseases are advised to consult with their doctor about the possibility of drinking a drink.

www.yourlifestyle.ru

A hot drink with honey and a variety of spices - sbiten, especially popular in winter. It has not only a pleasant taste, but also anti-inflammatory effects, which is simply necessary for the body in cold, inclement weather.

Sbiten at home can easily be consumed in the morning instead of coffee or strong tea. Soaked in the aromas of spices, this hot drink will instantly invigorate and give strength before a hard day at work!

Ingredients:

• liquid honey - 3-4 tbsp. spoons;
• ground ginger - 1 teaspoon;
• cinnamon sticks - 2-3 pieces;
• star anise - 2-3 stars;
• cardamom - 9-10 capsules;
• carnation - 8-10 buds;
• lemon juice - 1-2 tbsp. spoons;
• mint - 3-4 sprigs;
• drinking water - 1 l.

1. We tear off the mint leaves from the stems, cut with a knife or tear them into small pieces with our hands, put them in a small saucepan. Next, we load aromatic additives: cinnamon sticks, cardamom capsules, star anise and cloves. You can use other spices to prepare sbitnya at your discretion. The more spices will be involved in cooking, the richer and tastier the finished drink will turn out.
   
2. Pour aromatic additives with a liter of boiling water. For tart and slightly burning "notes" add a portion of ginger. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the temperature and simmer the drink over low heat for 10 minutes.
   
3. After the specified time, remove the pan from the stove and immediately add honey to the hot liquid, dissolve. We allow the drink to brew under the lid for 10-15 minutes for maximum saturation with spicy aromas.
   
4. Before serving, pass the sbiten through a fine sieve, remove all additives. Pour lemon juice into the strained drink.
   
5. Pour sbiten into glasses. Top with lemon slices, cinnamon sticks and serve!
   Enjoy a healthy warming drink! Sbiten at home is ready!

Now the world is full of an abundance of various drinks, and many have already forgotten that drinking should not only remove thirst, but also be useful to our body. This is exactly what a very ancient drink is. sbiten, which was prepared in the XI century. The main ingredients in it were honey, water and various herbs and spices. There are several options for its preparation, because each person adds herbs and spices to this drink at will.
They called sbiten so because honey and water and herbs were previously infused separately, and then these mixtures were mixed or whipped.

Today I will share with you a recipe for making sbitnya, which has a positive effect on our body as a whole, and is prepared very simply and affordable.

Recipe for non-alcoholic sbitnya at home

Kitchen appliances: saucepan, hob.

Ingredients

Choosing the Right Ingredients

• Any ginger can be used, because dried, pickled and fresh, it retains its beneficial properties.
• If desired, you can add nutmeg or any other spices.
• Also in the classic recipe for sbitnya, herbs such as sage, saffron and St. John's wort are used.

Step by step recipe

video recipe

Dear readers, I invite you to watch a short video that shows in detail how to cook sbiten at home according to the above recipe. You will see how much you need to use the ingredients and how the drink turns out in finished form.

Feed options

• In summer it can be served over ice and garnished with fruit.
• Serve in a glass, garnish with a sprig of mint and lemon.

For adults, alcoholic sbiten is also suitable. You can add wine, liquor and any other alcoholic drinks to it. Such a drink can be served on the festive table. If you use it in a warm form, it is in no way inferior to the well-known mulled wine in its properties.
I will tell you a classic old Russian recipe for making alcoholic sbitnya. In this version, I will use the liqueur, you can take any other alcoholic drink. Red or white wine is perfect.

Homemade alcohol recipe

Cooking time: 20 minutes.
Servings: for 4 people.
Calories: 58 kcal per 100 g of product.
Kitchen appliances: hob, saucepan.

Ingredients

Preparation of ingredients

• We all know that honey loses its properties when cooked, but in all traditional Slavic recipes for making sbitnya, honey is boiled for 10 minutes. You can do the same, if you want to keep all the benefits of honey, then just dissolve it in water with a temperature not higher than 80%.
• You can take any honey. It turns out very tasty with May.
• In the old days, alcohol was added to sbiten. You can use absolutely any, preferably homemade, type of alcoholic drink. In this recipe, we will try to cook it with cherry liqueur.

Step by step recipe

video recipe

Dear cooks, and now let's watch a short video with you, which describes in great detail the whole process of making homemade sbiten.

Useful properties of the drink

• You may have already guessed that this drink is very healthy, because it contains only natural ingredients. This drink is also called honey because the taste of honey in it is very well felt. By itself, honey is very beneficial for our body. In this drink, it also fills our body with vitamins.
• Sbiten strengthens the immune system, filled with vitamins C and B.
• It can be drunk during colds and for their prevention.
• It cleanses the oral cavity, killing all harmful microorganisms in it.
• It can also be used during diets because it promotes weight loss.

History of occurrence

• I highly recommend to enjoy the taste and aroma, which is very useful. Sea buckthorn contains a large amount of vitamins C and E, which are so beneficial for our body. Drink homemade drinks and be healthy.
• And here is a simple recipe. With this drink, you will protect your body from colds and be full of strength and energy for the whole day.

• Today, my husband was going fishing and prepared excellent ones for himself, which can be easily made at home. I share with you their recipes. If you are lovers of this drink, they will be very relevant to you, and in addition, you can try making this intoxicating drink.

Dear chefs, I hope that today's recipes for alcoholic and non-alcoholic honey whipping were useful to you and you already have this magical drink.

Write in the comments what spices you used to prepare it and whether you liked the finished product. If you have any suggestions or additions left, write them too, I will not leave your notes without attention!

Often we use the name of the ancient Russian drink "sbiten", having little idea of ​​how it differs from other traditional Russian drinks. Let's try to figure out what it is and how to cook a real old Russian sbiten.

Archaeological excavations show that there is no people in the world who would not use honey in the preparation of their traditional drinks. The ancient Slavic peoples were no exception. They shared honey with their gods. And drinks with honey and based on honey are an indispensable attribute of all feasts, religious offerings, rituals and everyday life.

Our distant ancestors loved honey drinks and drank them in considerable quantities. This is indirectly confirmed by old recipes, in which the ingredients used for their preparation were measured in tens of liters of water and tens of kilograms of honey (for example, take “1.5 pounds of honey”, “dilute with 12 buckets of water”). One of these honey drinks is known to us under the name "sbiten".

The first mention of this ancient Russian drink is found in the annals of the 12th century. In those days, sbiten was called “overcooking”, later “boiling”, “var” (a drink that was obtained by boiling water with the addition of herbs, berries, fruits and honey).

It is assumed that its name comes from the verb "shoot down". Whether this is actually the case is hard to say. But it is known that two different vessels were usually used in its preparation. In one, an herbal infusion was prepared, in the other, honey was infused. And before use, the contents of both were mixed - “knocked down”.

According to the definition given in ancient books and annals of the ancient Slavs, sbiten is a sweet honey drink, the main component of which is honey. In addition, water, various spices, various herbs, including medicinal ones, were used for its preparation.

Read also: Suzdal sbiten: useful properties and recipes

How did they drink sbiten in Rus'?

Drinking fragrant and tasty Russian sbiten is a pleasure. And for a long time (before the advent and mass distribution of tea) it was perhaps the only hot drink. It was drunk at home, cooked in samovars in downed kurens, usually located in the most crowded places in the city. And at fairs and bazaars, sbitenschiki carried it in samovars and offered it to the frozen people.

They drank it from samovars, usually from earthenware mugs or special convex cups, as a snack with rolls, buns and gingerbread.

There is a version that it was for this drink that the samovar was invented in Rus'. Perhaps it is. After all, tea appeared on the table of our ancestors much later.

Honey sbiten with an infusion of medicinal herbs (chamomile and mint, St. John's wort and sage) was drunk not only for mood, but also for restoring health. In Rus', this popular drink was drunk cold on hot days and in the bath, as a means of perfectly quenching thirst. In winter, in frost, it was the best warming and tonic drink.

How to cook old Russian sbiten?

The oldest recipe for making sbitnya was found in a collection of instructions and advice on all life issues - in the famous book "Domostroy" of the 16th century edition, attributed to Archpriest Sylvester. Although it is known for certain that the ancient Russian sbiten appeared much earlier, back in the 11th-13th centuries.

The main components for the classic traditional sbitnya are honey, water and seasonings (sage, St. John's wort, ginger, bay leaf, capsicum, cardamom, cinnamon, mint, cloves).

Sbiten, unlike other traditional honey drinks, is prepared simply and quickly. You can drink it after 3-4 hours. The technology of its preparation does not use a long fermentation process, as, for example, it is done when preparing mead or surya (a little-known ancient Russian drink).

Read also: Stolbushin sbiten - an old Russian recipe

According to the method of preparation, sbiten can be non-alcoholic (strength up to 1%) and alcoholic - 4-7%, plain or custard.

Unlike many honey-based drinks, sbiten was most often prepared non-alcoholic. Hops were not added to it and honey was not fermented.

There are a lot of known recipes for its preparation. The most commonly mentioned sbiten are "Stobushinsky", "Suzdal", "Juniper", "Vladimir", "Fir" and "Moscow". They differ slightly from each other: either in the set of seasonings and spices used, or in different cooking technologies.

The classic recipe for an old Russian sbitnya is cooking in two vessels. In one, honey was dissolved in water and brought to a boil, in the other, a decoction of spices was prepared. Then everything was mixed together. And the simplest recipe is to mix all the ingredients at once in one go, boil for 20-30 minutes, insist and strain.

Russian sbitnya recipe

To prepare a real Russian sbitnya according to the recipe from the book by V.V. Pokhlebkin will need:

• Honey - 200 g
• White molasses - 1 kg
• Water - 5-6 l
• Spices: cinnamon - 2 g, cloves - 5 pieces, star anise - 3 pieces, ginger - 2 tsp, black pepper (peas) - 10 pieces, dry mint - 5 tbsp. l., cardamom - 6-8 pcs.

Cooking method: dissolve honey and molasses in hot water and boil for another quarter of an hour. Add spices and boil everything together for another 10 minutes.

There are many traditional recipes for sbitnya - with spices and herbal preparations, with the addition of cherry or currant leaves, and even with such an unusual ingredient as horseradish. However, with all the variety of cooking methods, honey and water will remain unchanged.

First you need to mix mint and chamomile in a large bowl.

These two herbs are not only useful, but also remind you of summer with their aromas.

To boil water.

It is better to take spring or spring water for sbitnya, it is softer and will give the drink a special taste. Instead of herbs, you can take a mixture of your favorite spices: for example, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and ginger - in any combination and proportion. Such a sbiten will be an excellent cure for a cold.

Pour boiling water over herbs. Mix. Leave to infuse for one hour.

Strain the resulting broth through a sieve or cheesecloth.

Warm up a little. Add honey. Stir well so that the honey is completely dissolved.

Water does not need to be heated much, otherwise the honey will lose all its beneficial properties and simply turn into a sweet mass.

Pour sbiten into cups and serve.

Once this drink was insanely popular. It was sold on the streets, at various fairs and bazaars, poured in taverns. And such popularity is quite understandable. In winter, hot sbiten will warm and protect against illness, and in summer, cold sbiten will become an excellent thirst-quenching drink in the bath. Sbiten will give strength, color your cheeks with a blush, warm and invigorate no worse than overseas coffee or tea. And it certainly has more benefits.