Stinging nettle schnapps

Stinging nettle schnapps - based on fresh, young nettle leaves and stems - has a pleasant bitter, aromatic and characteristic taste. The colour is red-brown.

Excellent as appetizer or after-dinner drink.

Serve with pork, beef, smoked and marinated herrings, smoked salmons, vegetables, salads, and dishes with rice, mushrooms or pasta.

Or use the schnapps in tea, soups, sauces, stews - or any other dish where you would normally use fresh or dried stinging nettles.

Stinging nettle schnapps blends very well with...
honey schnapps · rosemary schnapps · thyme schnapps · tarragon schnapps · sweet cicely schnapps.

Also, see how you can easily...
turn your stinging nettle schnapps into a liqueur.

Stinging nettle

Urtica dioica

The stinging nettle is one of many species of the genus Urtica. It's a robust perennial herb with creeping, yellow roots (rhizomes).

The green leaves are ovate, pointed and toothed. They grow opposite one another. The tiny greenish flowers, with males and females on separate plants, are born in long clusters.

Both leaves and stems are covered with stinging hairs.

Applying the juice from the stem will usually bring instant relief to the stinging sensation.

When dried or cooked, the leaves and stems lose their stinging properties.

The stinging nettle is one of the first edible wild plants to appear in the spring. Though native to Eurasia and Africa, the plant is widespread in temperate regions.

Here in Denmark, the stinging nettle is very common throughout the country, where it grows in moist, rich soil in open woods, wood edges, woodland clearings, shrubs, meadows, bogs, road ditches, and along streams.

Stinging nettle is highly nutritious, containing more vitamins and minerals, especially iron, than nearly any other plant.

More information about the stinging nettle plant

Recipe

For best result, use fresh, young nettle stems with leaves. You can use stems with leaves from older plants, but it's not recommended.

Remember - pick only from unpolluted areas and wear gardening gloves to avoid being stung.

Direction:

• Pick and rinse 6-7 nettle stems with leaves.
• Leave them to dry in the shadow - on paper towel.
• Put the whole stems with leaves into a clean glass jar or bottle with tight-fitting lid.
• Cover well with clear, unflavoured vodka - 40% alcohol content (80 proof).
• Let steep for 2 days in a dark place at room temperature, 18-20°C (64-68°F).
• Shake lightly and taste it from time to time.
• Strain and filter your infusion into a clean glass bottle or jar with tight-fitting lid.
• Store (age) for two months or more in a dark place at room temperature before serving.

Note: If for some reason you are not satisfied with your infusion, there are ways to adjust both taste and flavours - click here to see how.

Serve your stinging nettle schnapps at room temperature in suitable glasses. And remember to keep your schnapps bottle tightly closed and in a dark place before and between servings.