Get cozy this winter with Glühwein
Iwant to share a Christmas tradition with you. Except, it’s not a tradition grew up with. It’s one I learned in another country, on a different continent, in a new language.
In English, it’s known as hot, mulled wine. Hot because it’s served, well, hot, and mulled because the wine is steeped in spices.
I was living in Dresden, Germany, when I was introduced to Glühwein. It wasn’t just any introduction. It was at the country’s oldest Christmas market (586 years), the Dresden Striezelmarkt, awash in snow, sausages and Glühwein.
While I might have been introduced to this new, tasty, hot beverage at the Striezelmarkt, it was just the beginning, as I soon learned that it is far from just a Christmas beverage. It is a winter staple.
Hiking? There’s a stand along the trail. Walking in the city? There are stands in the streets and more bars than you can count. At home? It’s being warmed in the slow cooker.
In the English-language media, recipes for hot, mulled wine seem to be relatively evenly split between traditional mulled wine, with some spices, a little sugar and what I think of as more like the Norwegian gløgg, a mulled wine fortified, sometimes quite heavily, with liquor. The alcohol in this recipe just comes from the wine. In my recipe, I’ve cut down on the amount of sugar suggested in many others.
When it comes to what wine to use, I suggest a heartier red and I’ve found Cabernet Sauvignon is a bad choice. Cheaper is usually better because mulling will destroy all those expensive nuances. I am personally a proponent of a decent boxed wine because it stays fresher longer than bottles and I can measure out exactly the amount I need.
One of the more prevalent German brands of pre-made Glühwein gets stocked in some liquor stores and Trader Joe’s as the season progresses and are a fine entry to the genre.
For anyone who wants something to imbibe but isn’t interested in alcohol, there’s a solution. Substitute the wine for cider, grape juice or any other juice. The process of mulling is the same, whether it’s for Glühwein, gløgg or even spiced cider. As with most anything, the recipe and the spices are a matter of taste.
There are two ways to mull Glühwein: In a pot on the stove or in a slow cooker. The key, either way, is to not let it come even close to boiling. Alcohol boils and then burns off at 173 degrees Fahrenheit.
GLÜHWEIN
For 1 liter of Glühwein
Ingredients
1 liter red wine
1 cup orange juice 2 round orange slices 2 full cinnamon sticks (4
half-sticks)
10 allspice (1-2 tea
spoons ground) 10 cloves (1-1 ½ ground) ½ a Star anise 3 Tablespoons lemon
juice
½ a nutmeg
3 cardamon pods,
opened
5 half-inch slices of fresh
ginger, quartered 1/8-1/4 cup sugar
Directions In a pot
Put all the ingredients in a pot on low heat with a lid on or partially on for one to three hours. Keep the mixture from boiling. If the mixture begins to boil, remove the lid. The key to mulling is to heat the ingredients without boiling off the alcohol.
In a slow cooker
Place all the ingredients in the crock and set to low for one to two hours, and then to warm until ready to serve. The flavor will get better the longer it mulls.