Wassail! What is your favourite spiced cider (or other liquid) recipe?
December 19, 2018 10:05 AM Subscribe
Especially if it involves that thing where you stick star anise into oranges and makes your home smell amazing.
This Christmas I''d like to have a large pot of something on the stove all day,( probably cider?) Definitely warm, and ideally with orange wedges stuck full of star anise. It does not matter to me if it is spiked or not. What are your best warm holiday drinks? Thank you!
This Christmas I''d like to have a large pot of something on the stove all day,( probably cider?) Definitely warm, and ideally with orange wedges stuck full of star anise. It does not matter to me if it is spiked or not. What are your best warm holiday drinks? Thank you!
Glühwein!
That is, German-style mulled wine (glüh=glow, wein=wine).
I don't use a recipe per se; I mostly do it to taste. You can make it on the stove top or in a crock pot. if I don't have whole cloves or cinnamon sticks, then I use the powdered versions in a sachet. You could definitely do your clove-studded orange; i"m just not that ambitious!
Put in:
A bottle of red wine
The juice of a lemon, or 1/4 cup lemon juice
5 or 6 tablespoons of sugar, or equivalent in honey
Cloves and cinnamon to taste (1 cinnamon sticks if I have sticks)
One sliced orange
Maybe a half cup of water
Simmer for about an hour
Taste; add sugar or water as needed
Turn down heat and steep another half hour
Take out sachet or cinnamon sticks and cloves
Warm glasses or mugs in warm water
Serve ( you should get a piece of orange in your cup)
There are also plenty of more precise recipes out there. Some people add rum or fruit juice and whatnot.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:42 AM on December 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
That is, German-style mulled wine (glüh=glow, wein=wine).
I don't use a recipe per se; I mostly do it to taste. You can make it on the stove top or in a crock pot. if I don't have whole cloves or cinnamon sticks, then I use the powdered versions in a sachet. You could definitely do your clove-studded orange; i"m just not that ambitious!
Put in:
A bottle of red wine
The juice of a lemon, or 1/4 cup lemon juice
5 or 6 tablespoons of sugar, or equivalent in honey
Cloves and cinnamon to taste (1 cinnamon sticks if I have sticks)
One sliced orange
Maybe a half cup of water
Simmer for about an hour
Taste; add sugar or water as needed
Turn down heat and steep another half hour
Take out sachet or cinnamon sticks and cloves
Warm glasses or mugs in warm water
Serve ( you should get a piece of orange in your cup)
There are also plenty of more precise recipes out there. Some people add rum or fruit juice and whatnot.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:42 AM on December 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
I've made Food52's/Anne Willan's Ypocras (Spiced Red Wine) the past few years, it is delicious! If you have a crock pot, that might be easier and less prone to overboiling/boiling dry than the stovetop.
We've also had hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps and apple cider with butterscotch schnapps, which is one of those things that tastes better than it sounds.
posted by sarajane at 11:24 AM on December 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
We've also had hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps and apple cider with butterscotch schnapps, which is one of those things that tastes better than it sounds.
posted by sarajane at 11:24 AM on December 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hot Fireball Apple Cider
Bonus points: Instead of apple juice, use actual hard apple cider. This is normally served cold, but room temp bottles of cider work just fine.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:08 PM on December 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Bonus points: Instead of apple juice, use actual hard apple cider. This is normally served cold, but room temp bottles of cider work just fine.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:08 PM on December 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Cider plus mulling spices (cinnamon stick, allspice, clove) plus browned butter plus rum (optional), warmed over a burner.
posted by gauche at 12:18 PM on December 19, 2018
posted by gauche at 12:18 PM on December 19, 2018
Just made mulled cider this weekend: roughly 1 long stick of cinnamon (6"), 12 whole allspice and 12 whole cloves per gallon plus 1/4 thinly sliced orange per gallon. This was twice the whole spices and a fourth of orange of the original recipe. Simmered on low heat throughout the party. In my experience, any similar mix of spices will work just fine. The orange gave it nice citrus-y overtones. I don't know if a whole orange will add the same flavor - you might want to cut the ends off so some of the orange juice gets into the cider as well.
posted by metahawk at 12:20 PM on December 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by metahawk at 12:20 PM on December 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
I just use a handful of the whole spices I got from a big package of a "vin chaud" blend in Paris; but it's all the spices you would guess are in there (cinnamon, star anise, cloves, allspice). You could probably DIY your own blend by getting a small jar of each of those whole spices, plus a jar of a couple other spices if you want (cardamom, crushed nutmeg....) and then dumping it all in a bowl, mixing it together, and then putting that blend in a jar. Then all you need to do is scoop some out when you want to mull stuff.
Also - a slow cooker is perfect for this, especially if you get one that keeps things warm after the cooking is done. I had a small party this weekend, and in both cases I let it run for an hour on high and then it just downshifted to 'warm", and I left a ladle next to it and my guests helped themselves. We got through a whole bottle of wine and some cider that way. (I used a quarter cup of the spice blend for a half gallon of cider, and two tablespoons for a bottle of red wine.)
If you want to use cider, just the straight cider out of the bottle is perfect. If you want to mull wine, I'd add a little sugar to the mix too.
Mulled cider also works well spiked - you can may want to make this an as-you-go thing (i.e., you spike each guest's glass instead of spiking the whole pot). For a West Indes punch: stir a half ounce of whiskey, a half ounce of rum, and an ounce of peach brandy to a glass of the mulled cider.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:32 PM on December 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also - a slow cooker is perfect for this, especially if you get one that keeps things warm after the cooking is done. I had a small party this weekend, and in both cases I let it run for an hour on high and then it just downshifted to 'warm", and I left a ladle next to it and my guests helped themselves. We got through a whole bottle of wine and some cider that way. (I used a quarter cup of the spice blend for a half gallon of cider, and two tablespoons for a bottle of red wine.)
If you want to use cider, just the straight cider out of the bottle is perfect. If you want to mull wine, I'd add a little sugar to the mix too.
Mulled cider also works well spiked - you can may want to make this an as-you-go thing (i.e., you spike each guest's glass instead of spiking the whole pot). For a West Indes punch: stir a half ounce of whiskey, a half ounce of rum, and an ounce of peach brandy to a glass of the mulled cider.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:32 PM on December 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
that thing where you stick star anise into oranges and makes your home smell amazing
It's not a drink, but if you're interested in only the smell, I've seen someone stick an orange full of cloves, and hang it in a sunny kitchen window inside an open-mesh fabric grocery bag. It smelled GREAT and lasted several days. I'm sure it would work with star anise as well.
posted by cranberrymonger at 12:52 PM on December 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's not a drink, but if you're interested in only the smell, I've seen someone stick an orange full of cloves, and hang it in a sunny kitchen window inside an open-mesh fabric grocery bag. It smelled GREAT and lasted several days. I'm sure it would work with star anise as well.
posted by cranberrymonger at 12:52 PM on December 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
Also just for smell:
I have a mini crock pot (can be found at thrift stores) that I heat cinnamon sticks, dried orange peel, cloves in water which makes the house smell quite festive. You can also chuck in star anise and cardamom pods if you have them. My sister adds sprigs of evergreen to hers, but I don't think they smell as strongly as the spices.
posted by sarajane at 12:57 PM on December 19, 2018
I have a mini crock pot (can be found at thrift stores) that I heat cinnamon sticks, dried orange peel, cloves in water which makes the house smell quite festive. You can also chuck in star anise and cardamom pods if you have them. My sister adds sprigs of evergreen to hers, but I don't think they smell as strongly as the spices.
posted by sarajane at 12:57 PM on December 19, 2018
Oh, yeah, traditional glühwein is supposed to have star anise, but I never (what, never?) no, never (what, never?) well, hardly ever have any to hand.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:58 PM on December 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:58 PM on December 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's not a drink, but if you're interested in only the smell, I've seen someone stick an orange full of cloves, and hang it in a sunny kitchen window inside an open-mesh fabric grocery bag.
That is a pomander and if you do it properly it will last for weeks (months) as the orange dries out. Though hanging it up with ribbons is more traditional than a grocery bag!
Also, all your mulled wine recipes are wussy. Proper mulled wine:
2 bottles red wine
1 bottle port (I use LBV)
1 bottle brandy
1 jar honey
1 orange, halved, cloves stuck in then vaguely squeezed into the pan then chucked in
cinnamon sticks
Warm, taste, and adjust spices - I usually end up adding some powdered cloves and cinnamon, and nutmeg.
posted by Vortisaur at 1:12 PM on December 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
That is a pomander and if you do it properly it will last for weeks (months) as the orange dries out. Though hanging it up with ribbons is more traditional than a grocery bag!
Also, all your mulled wine recipes are wussy. Proper mulled wine:
2 bottles red wine
1 bottle port (I use LBV)
1 bottle brandy
1 jar honey
1 orange, halved, cloves stuck in then vaguely squeezed into the pan then chucked in
cinnamon sticks
Warm, taste, and adjust spices - I usually end up adding some powdered cloves and cinnamon, and nutmeg.
posted by Vortisaur at 1:12 PM on December 19, 2018 [6 favorites]
Canelazo (an Ecuadorian hot toddy)
Boil cinnamon sticks (get proper flaky fresh sticks, not those pieces of wood they sell at the supermarket). Boil boil boil. Smells Delicious.
Add sugar as boiling, to taste. You're basically making cinnamon tea in a simple syrup.
Add freshly squeezed lemon juice. Lots.
(Optional) Add Zhumir to taste. If you don't have Zhumir, add some white rum, if you must.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:42 PM on December 19, 2018
Boil cinnamon sticks (get proper flaky fresh sticks, not those pieces of wood they sell at the supermarket). Boil boil boil. Smells Delicious.
Add sugar as boiling, to taste. You're basically making cinnamon tea in a simple syrup.
Add freshly squeezed lemon juice. Lots.
(Optional) Add Zhumir to taste. If you don't have Zhumir, add some white rum, if you must.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:42 PM on December 19, 2018
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posted by tooloudinhere at 10:40 AM on December 19, 2018