Glühwein or mulled wine are things a lot of my friends try to make with varying success, and I've also tried to make with no more to middling success -- up to yesterday.
The trick I was missing is that you basically need to make sort of a syrup in advance, THEN add most of the wine right before most people turn up.
This recipe was a good mix between the overly simplistic and the overly spiced / involved versions I found on line. It's in line with my favourites from Austrian Christmas markets, though not as strong (I think sometimes people add schnapps).
If you're doing this for a party, you should use the rest of the apple cider for mulled cider so no one is left out! Mulled cider is just a 1/3 gallon of apple cider (again, that awesome farm fresh kind of apple juice, no alcohol), and two cinnamon sticks left simmering for 30+ minutes. Warning: if this goes on for hours, even if you keep adding more fresh cider, it basically turns into sugar. Which of course kids love :-)
The trick I was missing is that you basically need to make sort of a syrup in advance, THEN add most of the wine right before most people turn up.
This recipe was a good mix between the overly simplistic and the overly spiced / involved versions I found on line. It's in line with my favourites from Austrian Christmas markets, though not as strong (I think sometimes people add schnapps).
- Start with about 1/3 to 1/2 bottle of wine (it can be something you had open) about a cup of water + sugar, or what I did was about a quart of apple cider (in the American sense of fresh from farm apple juice, not the British "hard cider" sense) and just a little (1/5 a cup?) sugar.
- Spices: one stick of cinnamon, about 1/4 or 1/5 a nut of nutmeg grated, about 5-7 cloves.
- Fruit: I used one large seedless navel orange and one lemon. Ideally use organic of both because the rind is used in the recipe and thick-rind fruits get subjected to a lot of insecticide. I sliced the middle of the fruits into very thin slices right through the rinds then quartered the orange slices and halved the lemon slices (throw out the lemon seeds / pips), then throw them all in the pot with the wine, cider & sugar. Then I squeeze all the juice and scrape in the juicy pulps from the two ends of the two fruits.
- Bring this concoction to a boil over moderate heat, then lower it to simmer for about 30+ minutes. Then put in a bottle of wine. If there's sufficient demand, you can add another bottle.
If you're doing this for a party, you should use the rest of the apple cider for mulled cider so no one is left out! Mulled cider is just a 1/3 gallon of apple cider (again, that awesome farm fresh kind of apple juice, no alcohol), and two cinnamon sticks left simmering for 30+ minutes. Warning: if this goes on for hours, even if you keep adding more fresh cider, it basically turns into sugar. Which of course kids love :-)
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