Mulled Wine

Method

1. 01

   Step 1: Start with water

   Simmer the cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cracked cardamom and ginger in 150 ml of water for 5 minutes. With no alcohol in the pan yet you can and should boil: spices open faster in water than in wine.

2. 02

   Step 2: Prepare the fruit

   Slice the orange into rounds with the skin on and cut the apple into wedges. The white pith turns bitter, so pare it back if the skin is thick.

3. 03

   Step 3: Add the wine

   Pour the wine over the spice base, add the fruit and set the pan on the lowest heat. Use a plain dry red; expensive bottles are wasted here and sweet ones make the drink cloying.

4. 04

   Step 4: Hold it at 70–80 °C

   Bring it to the point where steam rises and a few bubbles cling to the sides, then stop. On a thermometer that is 70–80 °C.

5. 05

   Step 5: Warm for 15 minutes

   That is long enough for the peel and spices to give everything to the wine. Let it boil and the alcohol goes, the peel turns bitter, and the drink cannot be rescued.

6. 06

   Step 6: Sweeten at the end

   Stir in the sugar until it dissolves, then taste. Sweetness goes in last because a very hot drink reads as less sweet than a warm one, and it is easy to overdo.

7. 07

   Step 7: Let it settle

   Take the pan off the heat, cover and leave for 10 minutes. Strain into warmed glasses and drop an orange slice and a cinnamon stick into each.