Mulled Wine

The Cookery Book

CHRISTMAS EVE

Serves 10

The image is courtesy of Country Living - to be replaced at a later date

A warm and seasonal drink, which is popular for entertaining

at Christmas with wonderful flavours of Citrus and Spices.

This recipe is courtesy of the BBC Good Food published

in the Mail Online.

Ingredients

2 clementine or 1 orange
1 lemon
1 lime
200g caster sugar
6 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
1 vanilla pod
2 bottles red wine / non alcoholic red wine / pomegranate juice
2 star anise

Method

Peel large sections of the citrus fruits
Put sugar in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the peel and squeeze in clementine juice.
Add the whole cloves, cinnamon stick and about 10-12 gratings of nutmeg.
Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, add to the pan, then stir in just enough red wine to cover the sugar.
Let this simmer until the sugar has dissolved, then gently heat.
Keep it steaming for up to 5 minutes until you have got a thick syrup.
When your syrup is ready, turn the heat down to low and add your star anise and the rest of the wine.
Gently heat the wine and after around 5 minutes, when it is warm, ladle it into heatproof glasses and serve.
You can add festive touches with extra slices of orange, cinnamon sticks, star anise etc

Here is another way to make Mulled Wine - shared on from Social Media

How to make a mulled wine spice pouch from old peel and spices – recipe

This spice pouch is a festive and thrifty way to use up tired spices and dried ginger and citrus peel

Tom Hunt

Sat 26 Nov 2022 06.00 GMT

Last modified on Fri 22 Dec 2023 09.56 GMT

I love making edible gifts, mainly because a handmade one feels somehow more generous than something you’ve just bought in a shop; it can also be a thrifty way to clear out your cupboards. This Christmas, I’m making mulled wine pouches using warming spices and saved-up dried ginger and citrus peel, which I’ve dried above the oven. Spices are better bought whole, rather than ground, because they stay fresher that way. Even so, they, too, will lose potency over time, so it’s a good idea to rotate them, making sure older spices get used up before you buy replacements. (At home, we keep a “use-next” box of dried ingredients on the countertop, which often doubles up as inspiration for our next meal.)

Mulled wine spice pouch

This makes a sweet little gift and is a great way to use up store-cupboard ingredients. If you want to be really generous, gift the other mulled wine ingredients, too, be that the wine, honey or maple syrup, orange juice or even a bottle of spirits. Note that all the ingredients for the pouch are optional – I’ve included a long list in the hope that you’ll have at least some of them to hand. Like chai tea, mulled wine recipes vary greatly, and are delicious even when made with just a few spices.

Makes 12 cups (ie, when mixed with two bottles of wine)

For the spice pouch

4-6 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 small cinnamon stick
2-3 star anise
3-6 cardamom pods
6 black peppercorns
1 thin slice nutmeg
2-4cm piece dried ginger peel
3 pieces dried citrus peel
3 pieces dried fruit (prunes, figs and/or apricots, say)
4cm piece vanilla pod

For the mulled wine
350ml orange juice, or water
4-6 tbsp honey, maple syrup or sugar (optional)
2 x 750ml bottles red wine
50-100ml spirit – brandy, whisk or gin (optional)

Method

To make the mulled wine pouch, put a combination of all the ingredients in the centre of a piece of cheesecloth or muslin, then tie up neatly to seal, so it looks a bit like an old money bag; note that all the ingredients are optional, so adjust the quantities to suit your own taste.

To make the mulled wine, pour the orange juice (or water) into a small saucepan and add the honey, maple syrup or sugar, if using, to taste. Drop the mulled wine pouch into the pan, then bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and cook, stirring, for five minutes.