Apéritif and digestif

Apéritifs

An apéritif is an alcoholic beverage usually served before a meal to stimulate the appetite, and is therefore usually dry rather than sweet. Common choices for an apéritif are vermouth; champagne; pastis; gin; rakı; fino, amontillado or other styles of dry sherry (but not usually cream sherry, which is very sweet and rich); and any still, dry, light white wine.

"Apéritif" may also refer to a snack that precedes a meal. This includes an amuse-bouche, such as crackers, cheese, pâté or olives.

"Apéritif" is a French word derived from the Latin verb aperire, which means "to open." The French slang word for "apéritif" is "apéro," although in France an "apéro" is also food eaten in the late afternoon/early evening.

History

St. Diadochos of Photiki, in his writing on the Christian spiritual life, On Spiritual Knowledge, states, "People who wish to discipline the sexual organs should avoid drinking those artificial concoctions which are called 'aperitifs'—presumably because they open a way to the stomach for the vast meal which is to follow." Diadochos was born around 400 A.D. and died sometime before 486 A.D. He was from Northern Greece and was a significant theologian during the Council of Chalcedon (451). Therefore, the use of apéritifs to affect one's consumption of food was a practice in the 5th century.

A landmark in apéritif history is 1796, when Turin distiller Antonio Carpano invented modern vermouth.

The apéritif was introduced in France in 1846 when a French chemist, Joseph Dubonnet, created his eponymous wine-based drink as a means of delivering malaria-fighting quinine. The medicine was a bitter brew, so he developed a formula of herbs and spices to mask quinine's sharp flavor, and it worked so well that the recipe has remained well-guarded ever since. French Foreign Legion soldiers made use of it in mosquito-infested Northern Africa. Joseph's wife was so fond of the drink that she had all her friends try it, and its popularity spread.

Apéritifs were already widespread in the 19th century in Italy, where they were being served in fashionable cafés in Rome, Genoa, Florence, Milan, Turin, and Venice. Apéritifs became very popular in Europe in the late 19th century. The popularity in Europe crossed the Atlantic and by 1900, they were also commonly served in the United States. The apéritif recrossed the Atlantic in the 1970s: the habit of a substantial food offering with the purchase of a drink during "Happy Hour" in the United States pushed the development of a more food-heavy apéritif in Italy as well. In Spain and in some countries of Latin America, apéritifs have been a staple of tapas for centuries.

Types

There is no single alcoholic drink that is always served as an apéritif. Fortified wine, liqueur, and dry champagne are probably the most common choices. Because it is served before dining, the emphasis is usually on dry rather than sweet, as a general guideline.

Digestifs

A digestif is an alcoholic beverage served after a meal, in theory, to aid digestion. When served after a coffee course, it may be called pousse-café. Digestifs are usually taken straight. Common kinds of digestif include:

In certain areas, it is not uncommon for a digestif to be taken before a main course. One example is le trou Normand, a glass of Calvados taken before the main course of a meal.

Bitter digestifs typically contain carminative herbs, which are thought to aid digestion.

In many countries, people drink alcoholic beverages at lunch and dinner. Studies have found that when food is eaten before drinking alcohol, alcohol absorption is reduced and the rate at which alcohol is eliminated from the blood is increased. The mechanism for the faster alcohol elimination appears to be unrelated to the type of food. The likely mechanism is food-induced increases in alcohol-metabolizing enzymes and liver blood flow.