Gløgg is Scandi Mulled wine

December 10th

Nothing cosier in the winter than a roaring log fire and a glass of something warm.  Depending on the

Christmas tree decorating with my
family and drinking mulled wine

time of day of course it could be a cup of tea, a milky coffee or my favourite Gløgg.  Gløgg is the Scandinavian version of mulled wine, it tends to be sweeter and therefore I think more warming. Always ask a Scandi what they have in their Gløgg as many add dashes of vodka to it too!

There are many versions of  Gløgg on the net and in the huge number of hygge books that have hit our shelves this past year, so instead of the very traditional I share with you three variations, the first is particularly delicious and encompasses all that I think is right about Gløgg.  Huge kudos to Signe for coming up with this one.  The second is a huge variation on a theme but may appeal to those not so keen on the heaviness of a warmed red wine and is in fact a white based Gløgg, it's good, but for me there is nothing that beats the red wine versions. The last recipe I share with you today is a quick version that can be drummed up straight after work for that much needed pick me up, I'm too tired for Christmas but need something to get me in the spirit drink, then this is it.  Created by Food Truck owner Rhonda from Sixes & Sevens, do give this one a go.

Cook the Perfect…Triple Cherry Gløgg 

recipe from the fabulous Norwegian born Signe Johansen as heard on Radio 4 Signe on Radio 4 

Triple Cherry Gløgg

Triple Cherry Gløgg

Serves 10 in heatproof glasses or cups

For the Spiced Sugar Syrup
100g golden caster sugar
10 cardamom pods, crushed
5 whole cloves
3 peppercorns
3 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1cm piece of fresh ginger
1 long strip of unwaxed clementine rind
(or citrus peel of your choice)

For the Cherries
150ml cherry cordial
150ml cherry liqueur such as Cherry Heering
100g dried sour cherries
75cl bottle of light red wine
such as Beaujolais

To Serve
2 organic clementines,
peeled and sliced into discs
100g blanched almonds

Cherries have a particular resonance. They remind me of summers spent at my grandparents’ fruit farm on the west coast of Norway. I can conjure up their intense flavour even on the darkest of midwinter days, and I enjoy nothing more than sharing that experience with friends and family with a glass of this Triple Cherry Gløgg—it’s dark, rich, sweet and sour all at the same time.

To make the spiced sugar syrup, heat the sugar in a small saucepan with 100ml water. Turn off the heat as soon as the sugar has dissolved. Add all the spices and the citrus peel, cover and allow to infuse overnight or for at least a few hours.

Do the same with the cherries (but without heating them). Place all the ingredients in a bowl and leave
covered overnight.

When you’re ready to serve the gløgg, place the syrup and cherries in a large pan and heat gently. You do not want to boil this under any circumstances. It should be just hot enough so there is a little steam coming off the liquid but nothing more. I like to leave it on a low heat like this for about 20 minutes so all the flavours infuse together. Place one or two clementine slices in each glass or cup along with a couple of almonds and then carefully ladle in some of the gløgg. Serve while warm.

Tip: It’s definitely worth making a large batch of spiced sugar syrup as it features in other recipes in this chapter, so double or triple the quantities for the syrup and keep what you don’t use for the gløgg in the fridge in a sealed, sterilized glass container for up to 3 weeks.

White mulled wine

from the fabulous website of Norwegian Paul: Sweet Paul

Photo by Reetta Pasanen 

Makes 6-8 servings

You will need:
zest of 1 lemon (without the white pith)
1” piece peeled ginger
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 bottle white wine
1⁄2 cup apple juice
1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup Calvados (optional)
nuts and raisins for serving

1. Put the lemon zest, ginger, spices, white wine, apple juice, and sugar into a pan.
2. Heat gently until steaming but not boiling.
3. Taste—add sugar if you prefer a sweeter drink.
4. Sieve the spices off and add the Calvados, if wanted, or alternatively you could use brandy or applejack.
5. Pour the drink into glasses. Serve with nuts (like almonds) and raisins.
6. 
   

[Text+recipes+food styling by Sanna Kekalainen]

Mid Week Mulled wine from DC Food Truck:  Sixes & Sevens

Mid week Gløgg

Boil 330 ml water and 4 tbsp of brown sugar      
Throw in whole cloves
Sprinkle black pepper
Sprinkle ground ginger
Sprinkle ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp all spice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Squeeze the juice of 2 clementines
Add 500 ml red wine
Strain through a tea strainer and serve in tiny Christmas cups and enjoy!

You can of course make the trek to Ikea and buy their ready made bottle of Gløgg and often I bring back my favourite ready mixed version from Norway, all that is needed is the addition of red wine and perhaps that Scandi dash of vodka, hic!

♥   Wishing you a warming Christmas time   ♥

Winter Warmers

12th December



Winter warmer

Brrrrrr, yesterday was cold and foggy and the dampness seeped under my skin.  Being too mean to crank on the heating and too lazy to light the fire (unlike me, as I love to watch the flames on an open fire) I shivered all day and all evening.  Silly and totally unnecessary, but it did make my mind
wander to ways in keeping warm, and what better way than Norwegian gløgg; mulled wine to the Brits.  Now, this is no ordinary mulled wine, the Scandinavians like their hot drink to be sweet and full of Christmas spices, with whole blanched almonds and raisins to be found within the drink.  Gløgg is often served in coffee cups accompanied by a teaspoon to allow you to eat the alcohol soaked fruit and nuts, delicious.

Many Norwegians buy their gløgg mixture premade, as it is a time saver in these busy and hectic days, but others like to keep to tradition and use age old family recipes.  I must admit to being the former, but also to being a premade gløgg mixture snob, for me, there is only one brand that cuts the mustard and that is Tomte gløgg.  Of course it is impossible to buy it here in the UK and I often have to ask mamma to bring it with her, or if I am in Norway close to Christmas when it is for sale, always bring the largest bottle back with me.  But one of the many reasons I began this blog was to force my hand in trying new things as well and share my journey.  So I have delved in my Scandi books and looked up gløgg recipes to have a try.  Unlike the Brits, the Norwegians like to add either vodka, brandy, aquavit or a combination of the three.  Aquavit is a potato based Scandinavian spirit, often chased with a beer for good measure,  to their mulled wine.  This of course is not essential and makes for a potent drink, but also certainly adds to the warming effect.  When better to do that than on a dark and cold foggy December night?  In Norway there is zero tolerance for drinking and driving, so it is not a question of,  I will just have one and be OK, but you either drink and therefore do not drive or you drive and do not even have a sip.  Norwegians entertain mainly in the home, alcohol is prohibitively expensive to buy and can only be done so from government run off licences know as 'vinmonopol', which have very strict and not very long opening hours.  It is no wonder that brenvin (direct translation is burning wine otherwise known as moonshine) used to be rife in Norway!

Gløgg is very sweet and not a drink that one would want too many cups of, but enough to throw off the chill and warm the insides, so maybe 2 or 3 cups should do it?!!?

The Norwegians also produce Jule øl  (Christmas beer) and Jule brus (Christmas fizzy drink,) which prove to be very popular and fly off the shelves.  Christmas beer tends to be dark and stronger than the normal 'pils' that the Norwegians drink and can be bought in a supermarket, unlike wine and spirit.  It has now become big business and this year alone, there are over 60 different Jule øl to be found!  The Christmas 'brus', (my sister loves it,) comes as an orange or red variety,
a special drink for a special time of year.

Gløgg

1 cup of Aquavit, brandy or vodka
2 cups Red wine
2 cups Port wine
1/2 cup Raisins
1/2 cup White sugar, plus extra according to  taste
2 Cinnamon sticks
4 Cloves
6 Cardamom seeds (whole)
One orange
One piece of ginger
Blanched almonds

Soak 1/2 cup of raisins in one cup of aquavit, brandy or vodka. Soak for 30 minutes.

Put a large pot on the stove, over high heat. Add one cup of water and 1/2 cup sugar to the pot, and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Lower the heat to medium and add your spices - two sticks of cinnamon (each broken in half); four whole cloves; six whole cardamom seeds, crushed by hand; a thinly shaved orange peel; and one small piece of ginger, peeled and cut in half. Stir again with wooden spoon. Do not allow the mix to come to a boil from this point on.

Add the aquavit-raisin mixture, two cups of red wine and two cups of port wine.

Sweeten and spice to taste.

Strain, garnish with raisins and chopped blanched almond — and serve hot off the stove.

 

The drink can be made a day ahead and kept covered, on the stove, at room temperature. Just reheat before serving.

 

I enjoyed this gløgg, although to me it was not Tomte gløgg, but would happily drink a few of these cups.  And I still prefer it to English mulled wine which I find to be a bit too bitter.

 

 

 



It is not just drink that can keep us warm on days such as these but clothing too.  A tenuous link to my last item in today's posting:  mittens but not as we know them Jim!  These mittens caught my eye and I could not resist but sit down straight away and give them a go.  After making the first one, I posted a photo on line with my craft group to ask for their opinion and the consensus was that these were fun.  I have an idea to have them for our informal dinner on Boxing day, but as with everything, I should not have begun them as I have so much else that needs to be finished first and other essential things that need to be accomplished, not making unnecessary cutlery mittens.  Where are my priorities...oops, seem to have now made a second one...

Mary Jane Protus' pattern for the cutlery mittens can be found here:

http://www.coatsandclark.com/NR/rdonlyres/E75A0C9B-DAA1-44B6-8816-AB79A26875C2/95454/WR1746.pdf    These mittens are quick, but it is best that you have some crocheting experience, although not difficult, just a bit fiddly.  Each mitten, including snowflake took about an hour.

Enjoy the gløgg season!