Seasonings for mulled wine

Spices and seasonings began to be added to wine in ancient Rome. But then they prepared a drink using a cold main ingredient. The monks in northern Europe started heating it much later. Many components (including star anise in the form of stars) have a healing property in addition to a warming effect for the body. This attracted people to the use of mulled wine in the cold season.
Historians are still arguing where the name of the drink came from. According to the first version, from the German phrase "gluhender Wein", which can be translated as "hot wine". According to the second version, mulled wine comes from "glintwine" and has Polish roots. But in the English dictionary there is a word "glintwine", which means "flaming wine".

MULTWINE HAS BECOME A SYMBOL OF THE NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS IN MANY COUNTRIES. THE BEST OPTION FOR COOKING WILL BE A VARIETY OF WINE WITH ALREADY FULLY FERMENTED SUGAR OR SEMI-SWEET TASTE.

But it is better not to consider a fortified, dessert alcoholic drink. Also, for greater strength, connoisseurs buy red varieties, but white ones are more suitable for a light or cold look. It is better to choose a set of spices for mulled wine on your own in order to fully enjoy the taste and aroma. But first you need to prepare a drink according to the classic recipe.

Classic recipe
Seasoning in the form of an asterisk for mulled wine star anise will retain bittersweet notes even after heating the mulled wine on the stove. At the same time, it helps with colds and will keep the drink in its original form for a long time.

Ingredients:

dry red wine - 500 ml;
honey - 1.5 tbsp. l.;
apple, lemon - ½ each;
star anise - 3 stars;
cloves - 4 pcs.;
cinnamon - 2 sticks.
What can be added and changed in the composition
To reduce the percentage of alcohol in the drink, you can add ½ tbsp. fruit juice. More often, for this, a natural product is purchased from oranges, grapes or plums.

Step by step description:

The first step is to thoroughly wash the fruit with a brush to completely remove the paraffin layer. The lemon needs to be peeled, the zest should be separated from half of the fruit without a white layer (only it is needed), which gives bitterness, and ½ of the sweet and sour apple should be divided into slices.
Next, you need to put the prepared products in enameled dishes without chips, add star anise, cinnamon, cloves to the composition and pour everything with red wine.
Now you should put the dishes on the stove and heat up to 70⁰С. This is a prerequisite for a quality drink.
Next, you need to wrap the pan well with a blanket and let the mulled wine brew for 20 minutes in order to fully reveal all the aromas of spices.
It remains only to strain the hot wine, using a strainer, and immediately add honey.

What can be added and changed in the composition
Mulled wine should be served immediately, before it has cooled down. There are special glasses for this, but you can use any convenient utensils. Garnish with a cinnamon stick or lemon wedge.
Bay leaf should be put at the very end of cooking for a short time.

In our ready-made "Christmas Mulled Wine mix" you will find all the necessary ingredients.
The pack contains cloves, star anise, raisins, cinnamon sticks, allspice, season 4 pepper (white, black, red, green), bay leaf, dried apple, orange and lemon slices, cardamom and nutmeg.

Composition of ingredients
1 pack weighing 40 g.
red wine - 500 ml;
honey or agave syrup - 2 tbsp.