Pest vinegar

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The Pestessig (also thieves vinegar , Four Thieves Vinegar or poison vinegar ; lat. Acetum pestilentiale / prophylactic or Acetum quattuor latronum ) was a 18th century widespread fragrance mixture that can protect against the plague should apply. It was also known as Spitzbuben vinegar .

Origin and use

The plague vinegar was created in 1720 when the plague raged in southern France, particularly in Toulouse and Marseille . According to legend, are four looters at the time of the plague - epidemic in Marseille (from 1720) by this tincture are protected from infection, they have to otherwise when robbing the plague and would -toten fear. They were offered impunity in court if they revealed the secret of their immunity to the epidemic - which they did in the form of a fragrance recipe.

This four-robber vinegar ( French : Vinaigre des quatre voleurs ) is again a vinegar- based herbal extract . According to some sources, the most important component of these herbs is rue . In addition to wormwood , rosemary , juniper , lavender , Calamus root , garlic , cinnamon , nutmeg , cloves , peppermint , angelica and camphor called. In addition to this medicinal use of the four robber vinegar, it is also occasionally used in the (modern) kitchen.

The specified fragrance mixture quickly spread across Europe. In England it was known as The four Thieves Vinegar , in France as Vinaigre des quatre voleurs . To protect against infectious diseases, you should rinse your mouth with pesto vinegar, wash different parts of your body with it or take a few spoons a day.

The use of fragrance preparations for medicinal purposes goes back many centuries. The widespread use of plague vinegar meant that so-called vinaigrettes became very common and solid fragrances, such as those used in muskrat apples , were finally replaced.

Recipes

Many different recipes have been handed down for the plague vinegar. Mostly, fragrances were extracted using alcohol or wine vinegar and then camphor was added. A French author gives the following manufacturing instructions in his book La toilette de Flore (1773), which deals with cosmetic preparations:

«Prenez sommités de grand Absynthe, de petites Absynthe, de rosemary, de Sauge, de Menthe, de Rhue de chacune une once et demie, fleurs de Lavande 2 onces, Calamus aromaticus, Canelle, Girofle, Noix muscade, gousse d'Ail de chacun 2 gros, Camphre une demi once, Vinaigre rouge, huit livres. On prend tous ces ingrédients sec, on les pile grossiéremente; on prend les gousse d'Ail récentes, on les coup par tranches: On met le tout dans un Matras, on met par-dessus le Vinaigre; on fait digérer le mélange au soleil ou à une douce chaleur au bain de sable pendant 3 semaines, ou un mois: alors on coule avec expression, on filtre la liqueur au travers d'un papier gris, et on ajoute le Camphre dissont dans un peu d'esprit de vin. On conserve la liqueur dans une boutelle qu'on bouche bien. »

Krünitz ' Oeconomische Encyclopädie specifies the herbs to be used as "rue, salbey, wormwood, coin and lavender" .

Meyers Konversations-Lexikon from 1888 states that the plague vinegar becomes

"... still used for smoking hospital rooms. You treat wormwood, rhombus, peppermint, rosemary, sage, 22.5g each, lavender flowers 30g, angelic root, calamus root, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, each 3.75g, with 2kg wine vinegar and 120g concentrated vinegar, press after a few Days off and add 11g camphor, dissolved in 30g alcohol. "

literature

  • Renate Smollich: The muskrat in art and science . Deutscher Apotheker Verlag, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-7692-0733-5 , pp. 143-144
  • Monika Cremer: Essig, Pickles & Chutneys , Augsburg 1998. ISBN 3-89604-254-8

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ernst Winkelmann, Explanation of 20,000 foreign words and technical expressions which are used in the German language, Paul Neff, Stuttgart 1863, p. 794.