Wassail Traditional Mulled Cider | How to Drink

Mulled Cider is a tradition around this time of year that goes way back, so I'm making some Elizabethan style Wassail!
Get in here and a Wassailing we go!

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Mulled Cider, in the form of Wassail goes way way back to perhaps the Dark Ages of the British Isles. The term "wassail" evolved from the Anglo-Saxon "wes þú hál", which essentially means "Good Health to you!". So Wassail is a toast, a greeting, a song, an activity, and a drink. Truly a word for all seasons! Uh, but mostly for the Holiday season. It's around Christmas that we would go out amongst the apple orchards to Wassail the trees and bid them a healthy harvest next year so that we would have plenty of cider to drink in the coming months. Delicious boozey cider is truly the greatest Christmas Gift of all.

The Wassail I'm making here is in the "Lamb's Wool" style, which would have been popular in Elizabethan England. The recipe is pretty involved, so buckled up, this is going to be a long one!

Wassail (Elizabethan Syle)

Ingredients:
• 4 small apples
• 1 Orange
• Sugar
• Hard Cider
• Port Wine
• Maderia Wine
• Nutmeg
• Ginger
• Cinnamon Sticks
• All-Spice Berries
• Cloves
• Eggs
• Cognac (optional)

Process:
• Core 4 small apples and fill with sugar, I prefer a demerara here.
• Pierce the skin of the orange with 13 cloves
• Bake both together for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees fahrenheit, but keep an eye on them. These overcook easily.

In saucepan combine:
• 2 qts. or 2 liters of hard cider
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 all-spice berries
• ~ 1 tsp. or 5 ml. nutmeg
• ~ 1 Tbs. or 15 ml. Ginger
Heat till simmering and let continue

In mixing bowls:
• Separate 6 eggs
• beat whites to stiff peaks
• Beat yolks to lighten color
• fold together

Add to the simmering cider:
• 4 oz. or 240 Ml. Port
• 4 oz. or 240 ml. Madeira

In large bowl mixing combine the eggs and the cider
In serving bowl arrange the baked fruit and pour the wassail over,
and enjoy! If you like this can be served in a slow cooker to keep warm for hours.

Whew... that's about the most involved recipe I've had to write up yet for How to Drink. Thank you all for watching (and making it this far!) and I'll see you next week with another drink!

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