How to prepare mulled wine - mulled wine recipe and history

It's nice on a cold winter evening, sitting with friends under a cozy blanket and watching another "Hollywood novelty" pamper yourself a glass of warm fragrant mulled wine. Or another conquered mountain peak proudly celebrate glass enveloping throat steaming punch. And maybe, played enough in the snow and can fight in winter fluffy feather bed to dizziness in the head, sitting by the fireplace and sipping strong grog to remember with your favorite today.

Residents of Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Great Britain and the Scandinavian countries simply can not imagine winter without hot wine. After mulled wine - it's not just warmed with wine, sugar and spices. This tradition has long turned into a ritual akin to the Japanese cherry blossom days. Drink mulled wine - means fun in the warm company of intimate friends, who after drinking wine will certainly become even closer and dearer.
Increasingly, before Christmas and we have started to appear on the streets of these dealers scalding drink. Meanwhile, buying wine, often remain simply not satisfied with its quality. So why not invite your friends to arrange a tasting and evening - to try to cook winter drinks themselves.



It is interesting to note that the first recipes "flaming drink" and the legends surrounding it appeared long before our time. Some historical sources say that this drink may be over Christmas. After all, judge for yourself, even the Roman culinary Apitsius in one of his cookbooks devoted foodies in the subtleties of wine drinking noting here that "dignify" the wine, that is, give it a touch of specific taste you can use thyme, coriander, cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf. In addition, the wine with spices and stored for longer than usual. In cold winters, hot-drinking wine.



So how do you properly cook mulled wine, so it did not seem bland or too thick and spicy? The basic postulate of preparation - mulled wine under any circumstances should not boil, otherwise it will turn into a simple boiled wine and impression of the drink will be completely ruined. And the process of preparation of this fragrant drink - it's not just the culinary delights and a good way to rally the team, introduce strangers, make merry in the same company or to open a new dimension in her husband, who seemed to have studied from top to toe.
In preparation mulled wine is where carousing fancy, because improvise with the strength of the beverage and its sweetness and other flavors is endless. Considered ideal dry or semi-dry red wine rather weak.
And so, in the preparation of mulled wine, first boil the water with spices. Such procedure allows the preparation of spices to give its fullest flavor and spice. Water should be boiled for about 5 minutes, then add the wine. On 1 liter of wine need 150 grams of water, 100-150 g of sugar, various spices and ingredients. Although more and more prefer to replace the sugar with honey, then the taste of mulled wine becomes more specific. From spices used: cloves, cardamom, coriander, saffron, bay leaf, allspice pepper. The only condition - the spices should not be milled, or mulled wine will turn cloudy. All other components - the fruit of your imagination: from the banal to the lemon peel various berries, pieces of fruit and nuts. After adding all the components of mulled wine, stirring constantly, heat to simmer.
With regard to temperature, it should be about 70 degrees. The question is - who will drop the thermometer in the miraculous puffing on fire brew. That's why often, the temperature is determined by "the touch." It has to be exactly right to hot mulled wine you could drink without burning.



When mulled wine "matured" him filtered through a strainer, pour into special mug of thick ceramics. So do the Germans, but why do not we start a Christmas tradition special dishes?
And mulled wine is recommended in the recovery period after infectious diseases, physical and mental exhaustion. A couple of glasses will warm, help with colds, relieve cough.
Well, if you think mulled wine too primitive and "everyday", then pamper guests punch, which, incidentally, originated earlier than mulled wine. The most common punch preparing inhabitants of Scandinavia. In ancient times, the major binding components of the punch had five components: wine, rum, fruit juice, sugar or honey and spices "cinnamon, cloves). Today, each family has its own Scandinavian recipe punch and that's why the owner of the house will never insist on the recipe. Instead, he offered to cook punch guest, so that he himself defined the ratio of the blend components.



The secret to cooking punch states that one should not pour hot water directly into the rum or brandy, as this one volatilized essential and aromatic substances. Just as in the mulled wine, is first dissolved sugar in hot, but not boiling water and then adding the rum. The temperature is observed, the same as in the wine. Since the punch does not excite the appetite and can not serve as an aperitif, it is often served with desserts.
Regarding grog, then in contrast to two previous beverage in its preparation must be maintained clear proportion: ratio of alcohol to water in it is always the same - four parts of water to parts of alcohol. This rule is not just invented, and has a long history. In the XVIII century English sailors of the Royal Navy of Great Britain were given a daily dose of rum. But once commanded the fleet became Edward Vernon, economical in all the details Admiral ordered instead of pure - to give rum diluted with water. That is why the eyes of his long nicknamed Old Grog - because of the habit of walking on the deck in any weather in the waterproof cape, called grogremom. But the drink has undergone some changes and was not so strict, especially if it is made on the basis of strong tea with lemon and honey.



If you dig deep in cookbooks of ancient Russia, it turns out that we existed a winter drink. It was called sbiten. And its preparation required a lot more effort than today. To start creating the raw material, or "Honey" - a mixture of honey, water, hops and spices, which is boiled, then it is added yeast and allowed to ferment. Only after this "honey" could drink or adding water to cook from it sbiten.
New Year is around the corner! And behind him, and a string of Christmas. Give a promise to treat friends with one of the suggested recipe. I assure you, they will not remain in debt.

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