Yesterday I tasted Glühwein for the fist time and it was interesting. I can’t say that I had ever heard of warm wine before, but Peter (my boss) assures me that it is very popular and has been for quite a while! Being the curious person that I am, naturally I googled it this morning – and of course he was right! According to Wikipedia, the authoritative recipe can be found in Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management at paragraph 1961 on page 929 to 930 of the revised edition dated 1869:
“1961.-TO MULL WINE.
INGREDIENTS.- To every pint of wine allow 1 large cupful of water, sugar and spice to taste.
Mode.-In making preparations like the above, it is very difficult to give the exact proportions of ingredients like sugar and spice, as what quantity might suit one person would be to another quite distasteful. Boil the spice in the water until the flavour is extracted, then add the wine and sugar, and bring the whole to the boiling-point, when serve with strips of crisp dry toast, or with biscuits. The spices usually used for mulled wine are cloves, grated nutmeg, and cinnamon or mace. Any kind of wine may be mulled, but port and claret are those usually selected for the purpose; and the latter requires a very large proportion of sugar. The vessel that the wine is boiled in must be delicately clean, and should be kept exclusively for the purpose. Small tin warmers may be purchased for a trifle, which are more suitable than saucepans, as, if the latter are not scrupulously clean, they spoil the wine, by imparting to it a very disagreeable flavour. These warmers should be used for no other purpose.”
Who knew? Well probably a lot of people, but certainly not me! Nevertheless, I watched as Peter made his tried and true family recipe of Glühwein — a little bit of this, a lot of that, and some of this. His recipe is a secret, so it’s not like I can post it on here, but it was good! As first I wasn’t sure what to expect, but as his concoction cooled to lukewarm, it was delicious. You could make out some of the spices, definately appreciate the taste of the wine, and the secret ingredients definately brought about a warmth and glow promised by the name, which means “to glow” because of the “warmth”! Definately a special treat to consider for the upcoming holdays! Thanks Peter for sharing!!!!
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