In northern European countries, mulled wine is one of the most popular drinks during the winter months. There are dozens of recipes for its preparation. Of course, you can buy this drink in the store, but it is much more interesting to prepare it yourself.
The choice of wine is key to making a delicious mulled wine. It largely determines the taste of the future drink. In classic recipes, dry or semi-dry red wine is used, with an alcohol content of at least 7%. Each type of wine gives the drink a unique taste, which opens up ample opportunities for culinary experiments. Cooking classic mulled wine at home cannot do without the use of various seasonings. Most often, cinnamon, cloves, orange or lemon wedges are added. In addition, you need to add some sugar and honey to the drink. You can also put star anise, anise, ginger, black pepper, coriander, saffron, nutmeg, etc. in mulled wine. The main thing is not to overdo it with the amount of these seasonings, otherwise you can ruin everything.
It is recommended to cook mulled wine over low heat in an enamel saucepan. You need to pour wine into it, which, if necessary, can be diluted with water in a 5: 1 ratio. You need to immediately put the necessary spices in the pan. You need to cook mulled wine over low heat, stirring constantly with a spoon. The drink should never be brought to a boil. The ideal cooking temperature is 70 degrees. If you don't have a culinary thermometer at hand, then you can turn off the heat after the foam that appears after the start of cooking disappears from the surface of the drink. Now the mulled wine can be covered with a lid and left for 30-40 minutes so that it absorbs the aroma and taste of all the seasonings.
When preparing mulled wine, do not use ground spices, because Once in the drink, the powder does not completely dissolve. Some of these spices will float to the surface, and some will fall out as a sediment. This can ruin both the appearance of the mulled wine and its taste.
Making mulled wine at home is interesting because it opens up ample opportunities for experimentation. You can use a variety of wines, a variety of seasonings. Thanks to this, each new drink will be different from the previous one.
