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Oh, here it comes. The prospect of a burned mouth, sticky fingers and purple lips gets to me – way down deep, where I digest spicy stuff.
What I’m speaking of is the magic of Glühwein; you can’t throw a fresh pretzel far at a local “Weihnachtsmarkt,” or Christmas market, without hitting either a stand selling Glühwein or someone drinking it.
“Glühwein,” or glow wine, dates back as far as 500 B.C., long before spiffy plastic stoppers were able to keep wine fresh.
Spices and herbs were added to wine for health reasons and to make the wine drinkable again. It’s the perfect thing to warm you up once extremities become numb.
But don’t forget to give the kiddos the hookup on this liquid holiday miracle with a non-alcoholic version, called “Kinderglühwein.” Kinderglühwein is often available where Glühwein is sold. Check out this page for recipes to make your own Glühwein and the nonalcoholic Kinderglühwein.
If you’re going to be traveling for the holidays, try asking around for the local mulled wine: in French, vin chaud (hot wine); in Italian, vin brulé (French for burnt wine), which is similar to the Romanian vin fiert of the same meaning; in Polish, Grzane Wino (heated wine); the Slovak Varené vino (boiled wine); the Slovenian Kuhano vino (cooked wine); and the Hungarian Forralt bor (boiled wine).
Glühwein recipe:
(Courtesy of cooking for coach)
INGREDIENTS:
3 (750 ml) bottles of your favorite red wine
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
brown sugar, to taste
PREPARATION:
In a large saucepan over very low heat, combine all of the ingredients and heat until sufficiently warm, being careful not to bring to a boil. Heat for 30 minutes to an hour, tasting occasionally, until just right. Remove from heat, strain and serve.
Kinderglühwein recipe: A nonalcoholic option for the kiddos
(Courtesy of www.chefkoch.de)
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 liter tea (either wild cherry or a berry tea)
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
3/4 liter grape juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Sugar or sweetener to taste
PREPARATION:
Cook the tea as suggested on the box.
In a medium to large saucepan over low heat, combine all of the ingredients and heat until warm, being careful not to bring to a boil.
