On winter evenings, a glass of hot mulled wine can be indispensable. Many people love this sweet strong drink, but not many have tried to cook it yourself. In this article we will talk about how to make mulled wine and thereby please yourself and your loved ones.
What is mulled wine?
This is a wine that is heated with spices and spices to a certain temperature. The name in Russian resembles the German word Glühwein. In English-speaking countries, this drink is also popular, only it is called there mulled wine ("warmed wine"). Mulled wine is not just an invigorating and warming drink. It can turn into a whole ritual for those who value good company and warm communication in every sense.
It is enough to learn the basics of making mulled wine at home, and now you are happy to demonstrate the newfound skill to your relatives and friends. This divine drink not only saves from the spleen, but also cures some diseases. Our ancestors also knew that hot wine is indispensable in the treatment of colds, especially in a duet with oranges. Making mulled wine at home can be compared to making a magical healing elixir. By the way, wine is not boiled, therefore, all its beneficial properties, esters and amino acids are stored in full form.
The classic recipe for mulled wine can be repeated by any amateur cook who wants to surprise their guests with an exquisite cocktail. The drink is served much more often in the cold season, as it accelerates blood, helps to warm up and treats colds.
How to make mulled wine at home? Chef's Chef
The classic mulled wine recipe will help you create a unique drink that will not only have a wonderful aroma, but also warming properties. Due to the presence of wine and spices in it - the most powerful antioxidants, you can get rid of the first symptoms of a cold and significantly increase immunity. But preservation of all its useful properties is possible only subject to the rules of cooking.
There is also a non-alcoholic option in which the wine is replaced with cherry, grape, pomegranate juice.
To cook classic mulled wine on red wine, a home cook will need a small saucepan or an appropriately sized stewpan. Stir the drink in a container with a wooden spoon (spatula), then pour it into tall glasses with large handles. Typically, one serving of mulled wine is 300 milliliters.
Heat wine with spices can only be up to 70-80 degrees and cook no more than five minutes. An important component of the mulled wine set is fruit. Typically, apples and citrus fruits are used to make a hot cocktail.
It is customary to sweeten the drink with honey, less often put sugar in it.
What is the best wine for mulled wine ?
As you know, wine is the basis of this drink. You should not bother with the choice of the most suitable alcohol - the composition of mulled wine should just be good wine from a trusted producer. It can be inexpensive, but of high quality.
The classic mulled wine recipe involves the use of red wine, which can be semi-sweet, dry and fortified.
Sometimes, to give a cocktail a special aroma and strength, rum or cognac is added to it. White wine is a rather unusual ingredient in mulled wine, but has long been recognized by many admirers of a hot drink.
Buying expensive alcohol for cooking in a store is not worth it, as its qualities are lost due to the filling of a hot drink with all kinds of spices and fruits.
Mulled wine spice set
In mulled wine, seasoning is a taste-forming component that is responsible for the benefit and quality of the drink. A correctly selected set for mulled wine creates the right atmosphere, filling the house with a unique aroma. An important condition is the use of exclusively non-ground spices, otherwise the drink turns cloudy. So, what needs to be prepared:
- Cloves buds and cinnamon sticks are a classic, the most commonly used components.
- You can give the cocktail a slight sourness due to barberry and cardamom grains.
- If you use a little ginger in the drink, you can achieve a certain piquancy of hot wine.
- Star anise and anise will provide the drink a unique color and delicate aroma.
- If you include hot pepper in mulled wine from red wine, you can prepare a healing drink that will perfectly warm your throat and give you a pleasant relaxation.
- Fruit mulled wine is a traditional winter drink made with the addition of lemons, oranges, grapefruits, apples. Dried fruits, such as raspberries, cranberries, raisins, can give it an unusual taste.
How to drink hot fruit wine
The classic mulled wine recipe, which can easily be brought to life at home, involves observing certain rules not only of preparing, but also drinking, and even serving it. As soon as the fire is turned off, let the drink stand on the stove for five minutes. This will allow him to incorporate more flavor of spices.
Usually they drink mulled wine from bulky glasses with large handles, but if they are not found in the house, a large tea cup copes with this task.
If you cook mulled wine with cinnamon, you can please not only culinary gourmets, but also aesthetes. Cinnamon sticks are an excellent flavoring and at the same time elegant decoration.
After serving, you can start tasting. Drink mulled wine is advised slowly in order to fully enjoy its astringent taste and spicy aroma.
Traditional mulled wine
To implement such a recipe is easy. The composition of the ingredients includes a basic set of spices and spices, which can be varied in accordance with your own taste preferences.
To give spices the opportunity to highlight the aroma that lies in them, you need to boil them in a small amount of water and only then take up the creation of mulled wine.
For cooking, you will need the following ingredients:
- 1 liter of merlot;
- 200 ml of water;
- 3 cinnamon sticks;
- 6 clove buds;
- 7 cardamom grains;
- one star anise and star anise;
- half a lemon;
- 3 tbsp. l sugar (honey can be).
Preparation: you need to throw all the spices in a saucepan and add water, cook over high heat for about 5-7 minutes, then pour in the wine, cook for another 10 minutes, without boiling, then put the lemon into cubes and turn off the heat. After the drink cools (5 minutes), add sugar and pour the contents of the pan into glasses after stirring.
White Wine Mulled Recipe
If you still doubt which mulled wine is best for you, try using white for the experiment.
This is not a traditional way of preparing a winter treat, but sour alcohol allows you to get a pretty tasty mulled wine. This light cocktail is often flavored with other strong drinks (cognac, brandy, golden rum) in order to give it a greater saturation. Again, citrus fruits are great here, but of spices - only cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.
For cooking, you will need the following ingredients:
- a bottle of white wine;
- halves of lemon and orange;
- 3 cinnamon sticks;
- 5 pieces of cardamom and cloves;
- 150 ml of water;
- 3 tbsp. l Sahara;
- 150 ml brandy.
Preparation: toss in the stew pan and boil, then pour in the wine and simmer until lightly boiled, then add finely chopped fruit, pour in brandy and cook, not allowing the mixture to boil, then turn off the heat and add sugar. Upon preparation, serve the drink immediately in a large glass.
Homemade Alcohol Free Mulled Wine Recipe
For those who are not happy with alcohol, a recipe for mulled wine on cherry juice was specially invented. Children will have such a treat just with their hands tear off. The method, cooking process and ingredients remain the same as in the classic recipe. Of fruits, lemons and apples are usually used here with the addition of raisins and sugar. However, caution must be exercised with sugar - a drink can come out sugaryly sweet.
For cooking, you will need the following ingredients:
- 1 liter of cherry juice;
- 100 ml of water;
- 2 cinnamon sticks;
- 4 star cloves;
- 5 pieces of barberry and cardamom;
- 7-8 pieces of raisins;
- half a lemon;
- sugar.
Preparation: for starters, boil spices with water, pour juice, cook until boiling, add raisins and lemon, simmer for another 5 minutes, add sugar to taste. Serve after five minutes of infusion.
Mulled Wine Recipe with Orange
Such a fragrant and invigorating drink will be appreciated by all lovers of authentic treats. To make the cocktail unusual, you can add a little nutmeg to the mixture (helps to reveal the taste of red wine) and a small piece of hot pepper. This exciting organism mix will give you a lot of pleasure.
For cooking, you will need the following ingredients:
- 750 ml saperavi;
- half an orange;
- 1 apple of Antonovka variety;
- a pinch of nutmeg;
- hot pepper no more than 1 cm long;
- 100 ml of water;
- 2 cinnamon sticks;
- 4 star cloves;
- 2 tbsp. l granulated sugar.
Preparation: boil the spices in water for five minutes, add wine, simmer over low heat, before boiling, add sugar, pepper, fruit. Turn off the fire, leave for ten minutes and remove the pepper from the drink. Serve hot cocktail in special glasses.
Mulled Wine Recipe with Honey
If you spice up mulled wine with a good spoon of honey, then, regardless of the type of wine, it will come out much tastier and more aromatic. Liquid honey is generally used, but you cannot add it to a hot drink. To properly dissolve this sweetener, homemade cocktail lovers make honey syrup by mixing honey and warm water. To maintain useful properties, it is necessary to add a beekeeping product to an already cooled mulled wine (about 70 degrees). To make everything perfect, it's best to use purchased sets of spices.
For cooking, you will need the following ingredients:
- 1 liter of wine;
- 1.5 tbsp. l spice mixtures for mulled wine;
- 3 pcs. cinnamon
- half a grapefruit;
- 2 green apples;
- 3 tbsp. l honey;
- 300 ml of water (100 goes to prepare the syrup).
Preparation: first, honey syrup is made (warm water and honey are mixed), then all spices are separately boiled, and wine is poured into the same place. All this languishes until it boils, after which fruit is thrown into the drink and the fire is turned off. After cooling the drink, you can flavor it with honey syrup and mix. Serve in large glasses.
Mulled wine with ginger
The beauty of homemade drinks is that they can be prepared at your discretion, complementing and changing the traditional recipe. As many thrill-seekers say, fresh ginger perfectly complements the flavor composition.
Ingredients:
- 750 ml of wine;
- 1 tbsp. l spice mixtures for mulled wine;
- 2 cinnamon sticks;
- half an orange;
- 1 tsp grated ginger;
- 2 tbsp. l honey;
- 200 ml of water (100 ml goes to syrup).
Preparation: in water we cook all the spices, pour in the wine, simmer until boiling. Then we throw ginger and orange, cook without boiling for 5 minutes, turn off the stove, cool for 10 minutes. While the mixture is cooling, you need to make a syrup from warm water and honey, then add it to mulled wine and mix. Serve hot in large glass glasses.
Sangria Mulled Wine Recipe
This is not a traditional way of preparing this drink, but it is especially loved among amateurs.
The presence of sangria in no way spoils the taste of a hot drink, and spices can decorate any wine with a magical spicy aroma. The recipe is almost identical to the classic.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 liters of sangria;
- lemon and orange;
- 2 cinnamon sticks;
- 2 tsp ginger
- 2 tbsp. l honey;
- 300 ml of water (100 for syrup);
- 2 tbsp. l spices for mulled wine.
Preparation: cook spices in water, add sangria, simmer until the mixture boils, dilute honey in warm water, throw ginger and fruit into the drink, cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the fire, pour the honey syrup into the chilled cocktail and mix.
As you can see, the options for making mulled wine are just a ton. It remains only to choose the one that will appeal to you, and enjoy a warm drink, wrapped in a blanket.