A bit of history
The rite of the aperitif originates from medieval medicine. Long ago, the term meant "anything that can stimulate the appetite". This was often a mulled wine flavoured with herbs that was drunk as a "preventive remedy.”
Some plants have been recognized as having this quality; in days gone by, they were used to make drinks called "aperitives", but their value was more therapeutic than gastronomic. In the literal sense, the aperitif helps to stimulate the stomach before the meal and to help treat digestive problems. At the time, many believed in the virtues of herb or spice-flavoured wines, hippocras and vermouths.
Well before that time, the Romans relished aperitif time, with a particular fondness for mead.
Not until the 20th century did the trend of drinking alcoholic beverages before a meal become increasingly common. In fact, it was only after World War Two that the practice of enjoying an aperitif spread to all strata of the population.
A rite that is changing
The habit of "having an aperitif" takes on different forms depending on the country, the social milieu and the circumstances.
It is preferable to avoid strong alcohols, which distort our sense of taste. The Larousse Guide to Homemaking (1926) made the following recommendation:
« Drinking a bowl of bouillon with the fat skimmed of one half hour before a meal makes for an excellent aperitif. It stimulates salivation and the secretion of stomach enzymes and increases the production of pepsin in the gastric juice ».
Today, many people prefer a glass of champagne, which isn’t the only wine welcome at aperitif time!
Anecdotes
A Gallic recipe for hydromel (mead):
« At the start of the heat wave, take some spring water. For three setiers (an ancient unit of measurement equivalent to several litres) of water, add one setier of unrefined honey. Pour this mixture into pots and have young children stir it for five hours in a row. Let it sit under an open sky for forty days and forty nights. »
Rutilus Taurus Aemilianus, A 5th-century Gallic agronomist.
« The aperitif is the evening prayer of the French. »
Paul Morand (1888-1976), diplomat, novelist, literary critic, playwright and poet.
Where can you enjoy the Apéritif around the world?
