Anisette and kümmel have been already mentioned, the former a cordial made by the French and Italians and flavored with aniseed; the latter, a German and Russian liqueur, flavored with kümmel or caraway seed.
Absinthe is a bitter and aromatic cordial, the bitterness being due to the use of wormwood in its preparation. It is particularly pernicious and treacherous to use if taken before meals, as is often the custom, instead of afterward. It is largely used by the French.
Maraschino is an aromatic cordial, the flavor of which is produced by the use of the bitter almond and the Italian cherry.
Chartreuse was originally prepared by the monks of a monastery of that name in France. For obvious reasons the Pope prohibited its manufacture by them in 1864 and the original receipt was lost. There are four kinds now made, of which the green is perhaps the most popular. Chartreuse possesses the fragrance of garden herbs, the aroma of various spices, flowers and nuts, and even the balsamy fragrance of the young, green tassel from the pine tree. These cordials are more largely used in France and Italy than anywhere else. Owing to a growing sentiment against their use, they are tolerated to only a limited extent in America although, because of their common use as flavorings, they are here mentioned.
Vegetable acids are also largely used for the flavoring of foods. One of the oldest known is verjuice, used by the ancients as a beverage. Its use in cookery is believed to have originated in mediæval France. It is made from the juice of crab-apples and of unripe grapes.
Vinegar is a developed acid. The word comes from the French vin-aigre, meaning sour wine. If simple cane sugar be mixed with water and some ferment, it will turn to grape sugar, then to alcohol, then to vinegar. However, the best vinegar now used is a fruit acid, either from apple or grape. It is also made from the red and white wines and from sour beer, the latter being known as malt vinegar. In England the law allows a percentage of sulphuric acid to be added to malt vinegar while in America both sulphuric and muriatic acids are considered adulterants. Vinegar is the one indispensable ingredient of pickles and various sauces as well as a valuable condiment.
Limes and lemons, similar fruits, contain large quantities of acid which is thoroughly wholesome and agreeable. To some extent these acids are displacing vinegar as condiments, being considered both more health giving and more palatable.
The most complete and instructive exhibition of condiments and spices ever given was held in the Agricultural Building during the World’s Columbian Exposition. The nations of all the earth contributed. There were capers and olives from Italy, spices from Java, chutney from Trinidad, Calcutta, and the far away island of Ceylon; ketchup from both England and America, cassareep and pickled limes from British Guiana, soy from China and Japan, and pickles from lands galore. The long, daintily curved, vanilla bean was exhibited side by side with its short, fat, plebeian looking adulterant, the tonka bean. Cordials were sent from every country exhibiting. There was in one portion of the building a small conservatory filled with growing spice plants, among them pimento, ginger, clove, nutmeg, pepper, cassia and cinnamon.
