I like it just right. If you buy it mulled - it's too sweet. I like it quite mild (I add water), I believe mulled wine should be much like the ale of yore drunk in Dickens' novels - a kind of comforting, mild, pleasant drink to sit by the fire with, as you read Virginia Woolf, or Anais Nin.... It wont make you drunk, just warm your cockles. This is my recipe:
MULLED WINE
one bottle red wine
400ml water
100g demerara sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
12 allspice berries
5 clove buds
1/2 nutmeg
peel of 1/2 lemon
orange juice and peel if desired
Put 100g demerara sugar and 400ml water and spices in saucepan. bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. take it off the heat and let infuse for 30 minutes. Then add the bottle of wine. and heat up a bit (don't boil). Voila!!
Look! I'll tell you what shit I like in the mix: allspice berries a must (allspice berries can be hard to get, but if you live in East London then you can obtain them from supermarkets - probably from the jerk chicken section); a few cloves, great; cinnamon fine. Moi, personalment, I worry about Star Anise - it's sooo easy to overdo it that I'm happy without it.
Now nutmegs - have you ever wondered what to do with all those leftover 3D moons after you've grated it over your fish pie during the year? Oui? you should keep those bits for christmas and use them in your mulled wine mix. You want to infuse, NOT use powder in mulled wine (it will catch on your throat and make you hack).ground spices are OUT. infusing is IN!
My Mum was given this by a neighbour on the grounds that she speaks fluent German and could understand the instructions. It is more-or-less a pot-pourri for cooking. Ingredients: cinnamon, orange peel, hibiscus flowers, lemon peel, elderberries, ginger, star anise, aniseed, allspice berries, cloves. Classy!
Coming soon - How I Like My Toast!
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