Gentian, the ‘yellow fairy’ of the Swiss Jura
Watches, Franches-Montagnes horses, Vacherin Mont-d’or cheese: the Jura Arc has no shortage of products that have carved out a reputation for themselves both in Switzerland and internationally. Among these regional treasures is a plant, the yellow gentian, which has made a name for itself in the world of aperitifs, albeit under the French flag.
Yellow gentian is to the Jura what edelweiss is to the Alps: an emblematic plant. It grows at an altitude of around 1,000 metres, preferably in very chalky soil, which makes the Jura massif a particularly good place for it to thrive.
It’s hard not to notice it on a walk in the Jura mountains. This plant with its yellow flowers is impressive for its size, which can reach up to 150cm in height. And the fact that it can live for 50 years and takes ten years to flower also commands respect.
Hard work
But the most interesting part of the plant lies underground. The roots of the yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea) have been used for their medicinal properties since ancient times. They are said to have digestive, anti-worm, anti-emetic, fever-reducing, antiseptic and purifying properties. In short, a veritable pharmacy.
More recently, the roots have also been used to make alcohol. According to Swiss Culinary HeritageExternal link, German documents dating back to 1620 mention the distillation of gentian, a practice first documented in Neuchâtel in 1796.
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But getting drunk on gentian is hard work. The roots – which are only harvested from plants that are at least seven to ten years old – can be up to 1.5m long, 10cm in diameter and weigh 5-7kg. Extracting them by hand, with a hooked tool, works up a considerable sweat.
A fairy you either love or hate
It takes 100kg of roots to produce five to seven litres of gentian brandy, a yield ratio almost half that of fruit distillations. The roots are difficult to extract and cannot be harvested freely. Some cantons protect yellow gentian or restrict picking.
Nowadays, supplies are scarce, with fewer than a dozen distilleries still producing Swiss gentian brandy in the Jura and Pre-Alps. Scarcity, small yields, difficult harvesting: all these factors make gentian a more expensive product than most fruit brandies.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that all this effort and high prices would result in a real nectar. Well, not necessarily. Gentian brandy tastes bitter and fairly earthy, depending on how thoroughly the roots have been stripped of their soil. You either love it or hate it, but it rarely leaves you indifferent.
“This brandy is criticised for its very bitter taste and its odour, which some consider nauseating,” notes Swiss Culinary Heritage. “It’s one of the few food products whose mere mention provokes a grimace of disgust in some people. And yet, the ‘yellow fairy’ – named after the colour of the gentian flowers – still has many devoted fans.”
Franco-Swiss controversy
Yellow gentian roots are used to make not only spirits but also a number of other alcoholic beverages. The best known of these is certainly Suze, an aperitif whose iconic bottle has even been immortalised on a painting by Pablo PicassoExternal link.
In France, there is no doubt that this popular drink, which today belongs to the Pernod-Ricard group, was developed near Paris by Fernand Moureaux, who registered the trademark in 1889. The name Suze comes from Suzanne, the entrepreneur’s sister-in-law, who was particularly fond of this amber-coloured beverage.
The story is different in Switzerland. The famous drink is said to have been developed by Hans Kappeler, a herbalist from the village of Sonvilier in the Bernese Jura. He is said to have initially sold it on farms in the region under the name “Alpine Gold”. As for the modern name, it comes from the Suze, a river that runs near the Kappeler’s house and empties into Lake Biel.
But the two stories could be linked. Ruined and in poor health, the Swiss herbalist was forced to sell his formula to a French trader … a certain Fernand Moureaux.
In the Swiss Jura mountains, yellow gentian is used not only to produce alcohol. It is also a highly prized material for another of the region’s flagship products: watches.
Gentian wood is traditionally used for polishing watch parts. Its unique texture, which is both dense and very fine, eliminates micro-scratches and gives pieces an incomparable shine, while respecting the integrity of the surfaces being worked.
The gentian wood used for polishing does not come from the root, as in the production of alcohol, but from the stem of the plant. The stems are gathered into bundles and stored for several days in a dry place, before being split and turned into polishing tools.
Today, this traditional polishing method is used only in luxury watchmaking.
This reportExternal link, produced for Blancpain, provides a better understanding of the manufacturing process for gentian wood-polishing tools.
Edited by Samuel Jaberg. Adapted from French by DeepL/ts
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