An apple a day

As the Cape winter finds its stride, TASTE’s resident cocktail guru, Jeanne Calitz is trading her summery spritzes for something a little cosier. Here’s how to make your own mulled apple cider – with or without alcohol

I HAD MY FIRST,

delightful meeting with mulled apple cider years ago at the Neighbourgoods Market in Woodstock. It was at one of their midweek night markets, it was mid-winter and pouring with rain but the whole of Cape Town seemed to have shown up en masse.

We came in from the cold, thoroughly drenched, and immediately set off in search of something to unfreeze the bones. At some point I caught the alluring scent of spiced fruit in the air – there was cinnamon, there was a touch of aniseed, there was stewed apple. The cup of mulled apple cider, when I eventually located the stall, was a revelation: not too sweet, not too sour, brimming with spice and a slight kick of alcohol – the perfect warming drink for such a frigid night.

It’s hard not to be charmed by a mug of mulled apple cider, even more so on learning the origin of this drink: it stems from the medieval tradition of “wassailing” in England – the practice, in midwinter, of brewing hot cider and “blessing” the apple trees with it, in the hopes of a good apple harvest in the coming year. The word “wassail” comes from the Old English words “was hál”, which roughly translate as “good health” or “be healthy”.

And though most of us are not fortunate enough to have an autumnal harvest of cider apples to look forward to – depending on the lockdown level we find ourselves at, we might not even have access to apple cider – I’m really drawn to the idea of a drink as a blessing, an incantation if you will, the hopeful conjuring of a healthful future.

So, into the pot goes the cider, the spices, the honey if you so choose. It’s an easy, forgiving concoction – you can toss in a combination of your favourite warm (whole) spices, such as cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise and allspice. Play around with your choice of sweetener, if necessary. Some like to add citrus peel and slices of orange. You could go alcohol-free and use non-alcoholic cider or even apple juice. The result will be the same – a gentle, slightly spiced drink to guard against the winter blues.

Serve it as a night cap, or a hot toddy, or a warm cocktail to celebrate the end of the working day. In the post-lockdown world, you could even serve it as a welcome drink on some festive evening. A welcome drink, what a thought. On some day in the future, we will be able to gather again. Until then – good health!