ANGOSTURA BITTERS

 bitter herbs — literally, “bitters” - to remind the Israelites of their affliction in Egypt, and morally of the trials to which God’s people are subject on account of sin.

Angostura Bitters

Angostura bitters is a compound made primarily from gentian (genus Gentiana), a flowering plant with bitter-tasting leaves. Gentians are native to temperate regions from Asia to Europe to North America, with some of its many species found in northwestern Africa, eastern Australia, and the Andes. Gentians can be annuals, biennials, or perennials.
J.G.B. Siegert, a German physician living in Angostura,

Venezuela, first developed Angostura bitters in 1824 as a remedy for stomach maladies. Although the compound did not perform as expected, it was exported to England and Trinidad, where it was adopted as an ingredient in cocktails, as the bitters do help in mild cases of nausea or upset stomach. Angostura bitters is generally about 45 percent alcohol by volume.
Angostura bitters can also be added to soups, glazes for poultry or pork, turkey stuffings, fish dishes, even tomato sauces, custards, and fruit medleys.

Bitters are mentioned in the Bible (Exodus 12:8, Young's Literal Translation) but the reference is probably to bitter
herbs.

Over (upon) bitter herbs they shall eat it.” מְרֹרִים, πικρίδες (lxx), lactucae agrestes (Vulg.), probably refers to various kinds of bitter herbs. Πικρίς, according to Aristot. Hist. an. 9, 6, and Plin. h. n. 8, 41, is the same as lactuca silvestris, or wild lettuce; but in Dioscor. 2, 160, it is referred to as the wild σέρις or κιχώριον, i.e., wild endive, the intubus or intubum of the Romans. As lettuce and endive are indigenous in Egypt, and endive is also met with in Syria from the beginning of the winter months to the end of March, and lettuce in April and May, it is to these herbs of bitter flavor that the term merorim chiefly applies; though others may also be included, as the Arabs apply the same term to Scorzonera orient., Picris scabra, Sonclus oler., Hieracium uniflor., and others (Forsk. flor. cxviii. and 143); and in the Mishnah, Pes. 2, 6, five different varieties of bitter herbs are reckoned as merorim, though it is difficult to determine what they are (cf. Bochart, Hieroz. 1, pp. 691ff., and Cels. Hierobot. ii. p. 727). By עַל (upon) the bitter herbs are represented, both here and in Num_9:11, not as an accompaniment to the meat, but as the basis of the meal. עַל does not signify along with, or indicate accompaniment, not even in Exo_35:22; but in this and other similar passages it still retains its primary signification, upon or over. It is only used to signify accompaniment in cases where the ideas of protection, meditation, or addition are prominent. If, then, the bitter herbs are represented in this passage as the basis of the meal, and the unleavened bread also in Num_9:11, it is evident that the bitter herbs were not intended to be regarded as a savoury accompaniment, by which more flavour was imparted to the sweeter food, but had a more profound signification. The bitter herbs were to call to mind the bitterness of life experienced by Israel in Egypt (Exo_1:14), and this bitterness was to be overpowered by the sweet flesh of the lamb. In the same way the unleavened loaves are regarded as forming part of the substance of the meal in Num_9:11, in accordance with their significance in relation to it (vid., Exo_12:15). There is no discrepancy between this and Deu_16:3, where the mazzoth are spoken of as an accompaniment to the flesh of the sacrifice; for the allusion there is not to the eating of the paschal lamb, but to sacrificial meals held during the seven days' festival.