Importance Of Absinthe Wormwood
Absinthe wormwood is normally Artemisia Absinthium or Grand Wormwood which is actually a variety of wormwood which does not contain a vast amount of the chemical thujone. The thujone content can be more in the drinks with two types of wormwood. Thujone amounts can differ between brands significantly, some Absinthes only have negligible amounts of thujone, whereas others have up to 35mg/kg. Only Absinthe which has negligible amounts of thujone is legal for sale in the USA because thujone is an illegal food additive there.
People don’t have single point of view about Absinthe Wormwood?
Common Wormwood, Artemisia Absinthium was used for medicinal purpose from Ancient times. It has been utilized:-
– To weaken poisoning caused by toadstools and hemlock.
– How to use as a tonic .
– Helps in lowering down a fever.
– One can use it as a stimulant to digestion.
– To cure parasitic intestinal worms.
Wormwood gives Absinthe it’s bitter taste, green color and it’s name. The essential herbal oils in Absinthe cause the popular “louche” effect when water is added to the drink.
Absinthe was banned in the early 1900s in many countries because of the alleged harmful effects of the chemical thujone, found in Wormwood extract. Absinthe drinking was believed to be responsible for violent crimes, serious intoxication, insanity and thujone was thought to have psychoactive and psychedelic effects. Absinthe was claimed to be responsible for the murder of a french family though the killer was actually an alcoholic who consumed plenty of other alcohols after the Absinthe!
Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Oscar Wilde are among the writers and artists who enjoyed this drink before it was illegalized. Many European countries banned it except the UK, Spain, Portugal or the Czech Republic.
Absinthe Wormwood Revival
There was never any real evidence linking Absinthe drinking to hallucinations or insanity and it is now known that Absinthe is no worse than any other highly alcoholic drink. One should consume Absinthe in moderation because of double amount of the alcoholic content in it. The consumption of decent amount of Absinthe can make a person feel a funny lucid or clear headed type of drunkenness.
During the 1990s many nations authorized Absinthe which made Absinthe drinking more interesting. There are many different types and brands of Absinthe available to buy and buyers can even order Absinthe essence, to make their own Absinthe, online from companies like AbsintheKit.com.
The thujone content of wormwood should not be used more than 10mg/kg in the European Union and in the United States it can be used only in trace amounts. One should avoid Absinthe containing artificial flavors.
Tags: Absinthe wormwood, ingredient in Absinthe, types and brands of Absinthe
This entry was posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 7:02 pm and is filed under food and wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.