Mulled wine at home: a classic recipe
The classic recipe requires several original spices, such as cinnamon sticks, cardamom, star anise and others. Today you can easily find them in almost any supermarket, but you will have to dig deeper on the spice shelf.
Ingredients:
- 550 ml red semi-dry wine
- 3 pcs cloves
- 0.5 tsp. nutmeg
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cardamom seeds
- 3 pcs allspice peas
- 100 ml regular cold water
- 25 g sugar
- Half a fresh orange
- half a fresh lemon
- 1 small fresh apple
- 2 rings of fresh ginger
It’s better not to use ground nutmeg, but to buy it and grate it yourself. This will make it much more flavorful.
Preparation:
1. Pour water into a thick-walled pan, put all the prepared spices in it and put it on medium heat. When the water boils, time it for exactly one minute, then remove the pan from the heat.
2. Wash and peel the vegetables. We cut out the core of the apple, and it is advisable to pour hot water over the orange and lemon before cutting, since they will be used together with the peel and it must be clean.
3. Cut the fruit into large pieces and place in a saucepan with spices. Press the citrus fruits a little with a spoon so that they release the juice.
4. Then add sugar, 2 rings of ginger root (no more than 5 mm thick) and pour wine.
5. And now the most important stage. Place the pan on medium heat and heat the wine. We need a temperature of 70 degrees. In no case should you bring wine to a boil; everything useful that the grapes contain in it will be lost: tannins, enzymes and vitamins.
As soon as the temperature reaches 70 degrees, remove the pan from the heat, cover it with a lid and let the ingredients simmer and mutually permeate with aromas.
If you don't have a kitchen thermometer, it's easy to figure out the air bubbles in the wine. As soon as they begin to form, it’s time to turn off the stove.
6. After simmering, pass the liquid through a sieve, pour into deep glasses, garnish with orange and cinnamon and treat yourself to still hot, aromatic mulled wine.
Tips for making mulled wine
- It is better to put uncrushed spices into the mulled wine you are preparing , then the drink will have a beautiful color, not clouded by sediment.
- You cannot reheat mulled wine; it will lose all its aroma and taste. Therefore, it is wiser to prepare exactly as many portions as are required at the moment.
- The taste of mulled wine depends very much on the wine used . If the wine is dry, the taste will be quite sharp. If you want a velvety, soft taste, take semi-dry or semi-sweet wine.
- There is no point in taking expensive, aged vintage wine for mulled wine - when heated, it will lose all its charm, use ordinary inexpensive wines.
- Be careful with spices - too much of them can ruin the drink .
How to make alcoholic mulled wine from dry red wine
You can get by with fewer ingredients. Instead of a whole orange, for example, you can use just the zest. This is very convenient if you are preparing a small amount of drink.
This example shows a recipe for 1 serving.
Ingredients:
- Dry red wine – 150 ml
- Zest of half an orange
- Star anise - 1 piece
- 1 cardamom seed
- Half a cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- Allspice peas - 1 pc.
- Honey - 1 tsp.
Preparation:
The cooking process is much simpler and faster than the previous one. Largely due to the fact that the portion is not large.
1. Pour the wine into a saucepan, put it on medium heat and immediately add all the spices, except honey and zest.
It is advisable to use whole spices, not ground, so that there is no sediment in the drink.
We wait until the wine warms up to 70 degrees (bubbles will begin to appear) and immediately remove the saucepan from the heat.
2. Add a spoonful of honey to the wine and stir well. After making sure that the honey has completely dissolved, add the orange zest (which can be grated or simply removed with a vegetable slicer) and cover the saucepan with a lid for 10 minutes.
3. Using a small strainer, filter the finished mulled wine directly into a glass.
Scandinavian mulled wine in a slow cooker
Cooking mulled wine is not at all difficult, and if you also make it in a slow cooker, then you can consider it already prepared! This recipe suggests trying to surprise your guests with an unusual winter drink, which is very popular in Scandinavia. According to some sources, it was there that the invigorating and spicy mulled wine gained its popularity, and then moved to us.
Ingredients:
- Dry red wine – 750 ml.
- Cognac – 2-3 tbsp. l.
- Orange – 1 pc.
- Cinnamon – 1 stick.
- Cloves – 15 pcs.
- Star anise – 2 pcs.
- Dried ginger root – 1-2 pieces.
- Almonds – 7 pcs.
- Raisins – 1 handful.
- Sugar – 2 tbsp. l.
Cooking method:
- First of all, we warm up our multicooker by selecting the “Warming” program in it, after which we pour the required amount of wine into the bowl.
- Cut the almonds into two parts and add them to the red alcoholic drink.
- Next come star anise, cinnamon, cloves, dried ginger and raisins.
- Lower the lid of the multicooker and heat the drink without changing the initial program.
- After 10 minutes, squeeze the orange juice into the bowl. We cut the citrus itself into small and thin slices, after which we also send them to the slow cooker.
- Add the required amount of granulated sugar and pour in cognac.
- Lower the lid of the kitchen appliance again and cook for another 20 minutes on the same program.
- When the time is up, turn off the multicooker and let the mulled wine brew under the lid for about half an hour.
Spicy and aromatic Scandinavian mulled wine, prepared in a slow cooker, is poured into beautiful glasses and served to guests. Surprise them and your loved ones with this warming winter drink! Drink to your health!
Delicious homemade mulled wine made from semi-sweet red wine
There is a myth that cheap wine is made from powder with added sugar. This is how semi-sweet wine turns out. Of course, this is not true. But the truth isn't much better. Semi-sweet wine is made from wine material (something like grape pomace) and sugar is added, generally not for sweetness, but in order to hide the not-so-pleasant bouquet of aromas of the wine material.
In general, red semisweet is not at all suitable for the role of a warming and preventive remedy for colds.
But if it so happens that there is simply nothing else available and the goal is not prevention, but romance, then we will make mulled wine from a whole bottle of semi-sweet wine.
Ingredients:
- Semi-sweet red wine – 1 bottle (750 ml)
- Orange – 1 piece
- Apple - 1 pc.
- Pear - 1 pc.
- Lemon juice - 1 tbsp.
- Cinnamon stick - 1 pc.
- Cloves - 6 pcs.
Preparation:
As you may have noticed, there is no sugar in this recipe. Which is logical. Well, the rest of the preparation is no different from other options.
1. Wash all the fruits and cut them into large cubes. Remove the core from the apple and lemon. Place the fruits in a saucepan, add spices and squeeze a tablespoon of lemon.
2. Pour a bottle of wine into the pan, put it on medium heat and heat to 70 degrees. And again we focus on the bubbles. As soon as they appear, turn off the stove.
3. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer the mulled wine for another 10 minutes. Ready.
When pouring the drink into glasses, you can put pieces of fruit in them.
How to properly prepare mulled wine
To properly prepare a warming drink, you need to choose quality wine. Often, inexpensive wine of excellent quality becomes the key to a delicious drink. Sometimes still water is added to it.
If you use dry wine, you will have to add sugar or honey at the end of cooking. It is necessary to add spices, but they should not interrupt the taste of the other ingredients.
Mulled wine must be prepared each time using a different wine with different additives in order to taste the entire palette of flavors of this drink.
The main secret of taste is properly selected spices. Some of them taste the same. Cardamom has a slight citrus-like flavor, and ginger has a slightly pepper-like flavor.
Cooking time and temperature are of great importance. The cocktail should not be heated too much or brought to a boil. The maximum heating temperature is not higher than 70 degrees.
Christmas hot drink recipe with orange
Well, it’s worth mentioning another alcoholic recipe, in which only orange and lemon are used as fruits. This is the so-called Christmas version with a citrus aroma.
Please note that the cooking process is different from previous recipes. It is important!
Ingredients:
- 1 bottle of dry red wine (750 ml)
- 2 sweet oranges
- 1/2 lemon
- 3-4 tbsp honey
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 boxes of cardamom
- 6 cloves
- 2 star anise
Preparation:
1. Take one orange, squeeze the juice out of it and pour it into a container in which the mulled wine will be heated. In this case, it is a heat-resistant glass form.
Pour a bottle of wine there and place the mold on medium heat and wait until the mixture heats up. Stir.
2. When the mixture heats up and begins to steam slightly, add chopped lemon cubes, the remaining orange and honey.
3. Next we send the spices. Some spices may not be on hand and you decide to make without them. This is, of course, possible, but try to ensure that the cloves and cinnamon still get into the mulled wine. These are some of the most important spices for this drink.
4. Well, then according to the proven scheme: we bring the temperature of the mixture to 70 degrees, guided by a food thermometer or the beginning of the formation of bubbles, and remove the container from the heat.
Cover the finished mulled wine with a lid for 10 minutes and then pour into glasses. In this case, there is no need to strain the drink and you can pour it with a ladle, picking up pieces of fruit so that they also end up in the glass.
What are the benefits of mulled wine?
There are different ways to prepare this healing drink. There is even an option with water. The advantages of the drink include the simplicity and speed of preparation, and the process of its creation itself is also interesting.
So, let's figure out what positive properties this drink has:
- Spices have a positive effect on overall well-being.
- Cinnamon eliminates pathogenic intestinal microflora.
- Vanilla has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system.
- Wine and spices are powerful antioxidants that help boost immunity.
- The main component - red wine contains useful microelements.
By the way, it is believed that this drink was first tried in Ancient Rome. But then it was made from cold wine and herbs.
And a hot drink made from wine became so popular in Medieval Europe. The most popular recipe of those times consisted of Bordeaux red wine and galangal herb.
How to properly prepare a healing drink?
To prepare the drink correctly, you need to select high-quality products. If you don’t know what kind of wine to make mulled wine from, then I can say that even inexpensive factory wine will do.
You can also use a fortified or dry product. But you will need to add sugar or honey to dry wine.
You can't overdo it with seasoning. The taste and aroma of spices should not overwhelm the taste of the wine. When deciding how long to prepare the drink, you need to remember that the maximum temperature of the liquid should not exceed 70 degrees . Recipes for making white wine and even a drink with fruit are becoming increasingly popular.
Pears, apples and citrus fruits are best suited for this. Seasonings include cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla and ginger.
After cooking, be sure to strain the liquid. So that pieces of spices and fruits are not felt when consumed.
How to choose wine and seasonings?
In the video you can see how to make mulled wine correctly. Experts advise choosing wine varieties such as Merlot, Saperavi or Khvanchkara . Instead of sugar, you should use honey.
When choosing spices, you should focus on their properties:
- Classic ingredients are cloves and cinnamon sticks.
- Star anise or anise will give a more delicate taste.
- Barberry or ginger will give sourness.
- For spiciness, you can add a little black pepper.
- Nutmeg enhances the taste of the wine.
- Mint and lemon balm will make the taste a little like a martini.
You can also use hazelnuts, almonds, raspberries, cranberries and even dried fruits.
Popular cooking methods
I recommend trying the following simple recipes.
Classic mulled wine
To prepare you will need a bottle of wine, 6-7 cloves, 50 grams of sugar, 80 grams of water, as well as nutmeg and citrus fruits .
The drink is prepared as follows:
- Pour water into the container and add spices. Boil them;
- after boiling, cook for another minute, and then remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes
- then add wine and heat to 70 degrees .
Alcohol-free option
To make non-alcoholic mulled wine, use juice instead of alcohol. Maybe grape.
This wine-free option is also very healthy and tasty.
To prepare you will need a liter of juice, five cloves, half a lemon, 2 grams of cardamom, 7 grams of ginger, 6 grams of cinnamon and a little nutmeg .
The cooking process is as follows:
- Ginger needs to be grated;
- combine all ingredients and juice;
- warm up to 70 degrees ;
- garnish with lemon slices.
Recipe for colds
To make such a drink, you must prepare a liter of dry red wine, half a glass of water, 50 grams of honey, an orange, a cinnamon stick, ginger root and 2 grams of nutmeg .
The preparation procedure is as follows:
- water is brought to a boil;
- add orange sliced into rings and infuse for a quarter of an hour;
- the remaining components are added and brought to 70 degrees .
By the way, you can prepare such a drink even in a slow cooker. I hope you find my recipes useful.
Try them and you won't regret it.
HOW TO MAKE MULL WINE AT HOME
The main components of classic mulled wine are red wine, sugar and spicy spices. Oranges and other citrus fruits are often added to this base. Other fruits are added less frequently: apples, pears, plums, peaches.
- To reduce the strength of the wine, either add grape juice, or brewed tea, or just water.
- Some, on the contrary, do not reduce the strength of the wine, but increase it by adding another 15-20 grams of rum to this strong drink.
- For children, in general, non-alcoholic mulled wine is made from grape juice heated with spices.
Mulled wine is a hot drink. There are two ways to prepare it.
The first method: spices and citrus fruits are heated in water or tea, brought to a boil, infused, and filtered. Then this hot liquid is added to the wine.
Second method: spices and fruits are heated in wine immediately. Add water or juice if necessary. The drink is infused. Then it is used.
MULL WINE AT HOME
There are a great many recipes for mulled wine.
Spices in mulled wine always include star anise, cinnamon and cloves. Cinnamon is most often placed in sticks (bark), although ground cinnamon is also suitable. Ground nutmeg and ginger, especially fresh, add too much flavor and harshness to this drink. This drink is more reminiscent of a medicinal composition. Although some people we know like it, we don't use nutmeg or ginger in our recipe.
MULL WINE AT HOME - RECIPE
For 2 servings of mulled wine, take:
- Red wine - 0.5l;
- Orange - 1 piece;
- Grapefruit - 1 piece;
- Cinnamon - 1 stick;
- Cloves - 3g (5-7 pcs.);
- Star anise - 2g. (2 stars);
- Sugar - 30 gr.
HOW TO MAKE MULL WINE
Mulled wine is not compote; you don’t need to boil it. On the contrary, the main thing in this drink is not to go beyond 72 degrees when heated. Under no circumstances should the wine boil.
- Place a saucepan of wine on the stove to heat up.
- Prepare the orange zest. Grapefruit gives a bitter taste, if you don’t like it, don’t add it. Eat the orange itself while the drink is being prepared. Fresh food contains more vitamins!
- Add sugar, zest and spices to the wine immediately. During heating, you need to stir several times so that the sugar does not sit on the bottom and burn. Once it melts, there is no need to stir it.
- Heat the wine to 70-72 degrees. If there is no thermometer to measure the temperature in the dish, then look, as soon as bubbles begin to rise along the edge of the saucepan, as if boiling, then remove the drink from the hot stove.
- Let the mulled wine brew for 5-7 minutes under the lid. During this time it will cool down a little. Then pour it into glasses or mugs through a strainer.
CLARIFICATIONS AND NOTES FOR RECIPE
- We prepare mulled wine at home without water or juice. Only on wine. You can take the simplest wine in a plastic bottle or packaged. It is better to drink good wine in its natural form. Look at the sugar content. Our wine contains 12% sugar. Yours may have less or more. And you and I may have different tastes. The amount of sugar in the drink depends on this. Sometimes even wine of the same brand, but from different years, has different sweetness.
- The wine we use is called "Pilin". It's something like vermouth. It contains many different useful herbs infused. You can also add dry herbs to mulled wine: thyme, St. John's wort. There are those who add black peppercorns and even garlic. But... be careful. Medicinal herbs can behave completely differently in the composition of a wine drink. Your heart rate may increase and your blood pressure may rise. For people with various health problems, it is better to start with the “children's version” of mulled wine, where wine and juice (water, tea) are in a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio. You will get such a low-alcohol compote.
I like to drink mulled wine from a mug, crawling into a chair with my feet up and covered with a soft fluffy blanket. You hold the mug with both hands and inhale the spicy orange aroma. Hops and warmth envelop you, cold and dampness recede. Peace and tranquility sets in. Coffee is the drink of awakening, and mulled wine is the evening magician. This is our opinion.
How to make a spicy white wine drink
It sounds like mulled white wine! It immediately seems that it has a pleasant taste.
To prepare it you will need:
- 150 ml dry white wine;
- 300 ml tangerine juice;
- 20 ml cognac or orange liqueur;
- 3 teaspoons honey (liquid);
- cinnamon – 3 sticks;
- 6 tangerine slices;
- apple;
- add cloves and star anise to taste.
Mulled wine can be made in 10-15 minutes, and one serving contains only 98 kcal.
Preparation:
- Pour white wine into a tall saucepan, add sugar, add spices to taste. Place over moderate heat;
- Chop the apple finely and cut the tangerine slices into two parts. Send fruit pieces to wine;
- The drink should not boil, so it should be slightly warmed. As soon as small bubbles begin to rise from the bottom of the pan, add 20 ml of liqueur or cognac and immediately turn off;
- Pour the drink into cups along with spices and fruit.
Useful tips
- When cooking, the temperature of the drink should not exceed 80 degrees;
- It is worth considering that any wine-based drink has a number of contraindications. Mulled wine is not recommended for anyone who has digestive problems, hypertension, stomach ulcers, or cardiovascular diseases;
- With the help of freshly prepared mulled wine, you can significantly reduce the first symptoms of a cold and shorten the duration of the disease by a third. This drink has healing properties; it cleanses the body of toxins.
This drink has an intense smell and taste. Tall and transparent glasses are filled with hot mulled wine so that you can admire its rich color. It is especially popular in autumn and winter. It provides invaluable help during the cold season.
Beneficial features
Mulled wine contains wine, herbs, spices and fruits. Cloves, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper and nutmeg are often added to the drink. These products contain beneficial antioxidants and essential substances.
Natural ingredients such as ginger, cinnamon, and pepper increase the warming properties of wine. They also remove toxins from the body and help fight colds. And citrus fruits added to mulled wine saturate the body with essential vitamin C.
In addition, heated wine perfectly warms the body, enriches it with beneficial amino acids, tones, and strengthens the immune system. Hot wine, spices and fruits contained in mulled wine warm up no worse than pharmaceutical powders for colds.
Before drinking mulled wine, you can do inhalation - just breathe over a hot drink. And, in addition, fruits and spices saturate the drink with vitamins. Drink mulled wine during a cold, of course, in moderation.