While it's cold outside or it's snowing, there's nothing nicer than hanging out with friends over mulled wine. Apart from warming and relaxing, it is also a folk remedy. We will reveal in the following lines what types of wine can be brewed and what are the most common recipes for enjoying this divine drink.
Mulled wine, in addition to being traditionally drunk in winter, and especially for the holidays, is also a symbol of Christmas fairs throughout Europe. In addition to warming, mulled wine lifts the mood, and many claim that it is healing. However, if the mulled wine is not prepared properly, you will surely have a severe headache.
Red wine is usually used for cooking, but white and pink can also be cooked. According to wine experts, the most important thing is to use fruit wine, which does not have strong tannins and which you would drink without cooking. Another important thing is to use fresh spices.
In the past, mulled wine was drunk from special glasses - cups, which had lids so that the smells and aromas would not blow. Although it is not drunk like that today, it still stuns us with its intoxicating smell, and in addition to being delicious, mulled wine is also healing.
In addition to being rich in vitamin C, due to the presence of various spices, it has an antiviral effect and strengthens the immune system against colds. Mulled wine is drunk while it is warm and can make you sweat a little.
How is mulled wine made?
The wine does not need to be boiled, but needs to be heated to a certain temperature. It is about 75 degrees because at that temperature the alcohol starts to evaporate. You can first heat only a little wine with spices because alcohol will "extract" aromas from the spices much more than when the dish is cooked, and then add the rest of the wine.
Another way of cooking is to boil water and spices, so that the wine is poured into it just before serving.
The spices that are most often added to wine are cinnamon, cloves, lemon, bay leaf, dried figs, anise, orange, ginger, pepper, honey and sugar.
If you want to add sugar, keep in mind that the sugar is first added to the sherpa and a little water to make it spin (but not yellow), then the wine, and finally the spices.
If you want to sweeten with honey, honey is added at the end, when you remove the sherpa from the hob, and you can also add it directly to the glasses.
Other alcoholic beverages such as brandy, rum or homemade brandy can be added to the wine ...
There are countless recipes for mulled wine, but it is recommended that you first start with a simpler one, which you will use as a base, and then continue to experiment with flavors.
One of the recipes reads: half a liter of red wine, 1/4 liter of water, three tablespoons of sugar, ½ teaspoons of cloves, a little cinnamon, a couple of slices of orange and a little lemon peel.
Another recipe: a bottle of red wine, 1 slice of clementine, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 star anise, 3 dried figs, 4 cloves, 3 balls of red pepper, 50ml of brandy. The wine is heated, spices are poured, and finally brandy is poured.