Gløgg, Scandinavian Hot Mulled Wine

It's the middle of December and you are standing in the midst of a traditional Christmas market in a small town in Norway. All around you are people dressed in woolly hats, knitted gloves and warm clothes. To each side are rows of little wooden cabins selling enticing things likes gingerbread, roasted almonds, knitted mittens, reindeer skins and skeins of hand spun yarn in beautiful colours. You stop for a moment, close your eyes and take a deep breathe in. You smell the warm spicey smell of freshly baked gingerbread, risgrøt with melted butter and cinnamon on it, and the unmistakable aroma of gløgg or mulled wine. You make your way to the cabin selling gløgg and as you grasp the mug of mulled wine it warms up your cold hands and breathe in the spices of cinnamon, star anise and cardamom. Bobbing on the top of the liquid are plump raisins and slivered almonds and the whole experience is the last word in a what you imagine a Nordic Christmas "førjulshygge" to be.

But we don't just drink gløgg at Christmas markets. Gløgg is the perfect warm and spicy drink to have at any time in the winter months. Don't think that is has to be alcoholic. Because of the zero tolerance on drink driving in Norway most people drink a non-alcoholic version of gløgg. So in that spirit I am going to share a delicious gløgg syrup recipe that you use as the base for any gløgg, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic and help you make førjul just a little bit more special and a little bit more Nordic.

Gløgg (Scandinavian Hot Mulled Wine). Makes 1.2 l / 2.5 pints of gløgg syrup

Ingredients

For the syrup:

1 litre / 2 pints water

500g / 1 lb brown sugar

4 whole star anise

2 piece of fresh ginger

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1/2 nutmeg (left in one piece)

1 lemon, sliced

1 orange, sliced

To finish:

Bottle red wine

OR

Apple juice and blackcurrant squash

To serve:

Raisins

Flaked almonds

Method

Put the water and all the spices and fruit into a large pan, bring to the boil and gently simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the sugar, stir until dissolved and simmer gently for a further 5 minutes.

Cool in the pan then put in the fridge overnight for the spices to infuse.

The following day strain the syrup through a sieve into a clean jug or into bottles. Keep refrigerated until needed. It will keep a few weeks.

When you are ready to use your gløgg syrup, add 300ml / 10 fl oz to a bottle of wine and gently heat until steaming. Pour into glasses or pretty mugs. Sprinkle in a few almonds and raisins.

To make non-alcoholic gløgg, put 350ml / 12 fl oz apple juice and 350ml / 12 fl oz of diluted blackcurrant cordial into a pan along with 300ml / 10 fl oz of the gløgg syrup. Heat until steaming. Pour into glasses or pretty mugs. Sprinkle in a few flaked almonds and raisins.

Gløgg is lovely served on it's own, but it's even better served with some Christmas cookies or pepperkaker.