Glühwein (German Mulled Wine)

Method

1. 1
   • orange juice 1½ dl
   • orange 1
   • lemon 1

   Prepare the citrus — Wash the orange and lemon in hot water and dry them. Slice the orange into 1 cm rounds, pare three wide strips of peel from the lemon and squeeze its juice into a small bowl.

2. 2
   • red wine 7½ dl
   • orange juice 1½ dl
   • white sugar 60 g

   Dissolve the sugar in the wine — Pour the wine and orange juice into a saucepan, add the sugar and set it over low heat, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved. Do not let it come near a boil at any point.

3. 3
   • orange juice 1½ dl
   • orange 1
   • lemon 1
   • cinnamon stick 2
   • whole clove 6
   • star anise 3
   • ground cardamom 1 pinch
   • ground nutmeg 1 pinch

   Steep the spices — Add the orange slices, lemon peel, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, cardamom and nutmeg. Hold the pan at 70-80°C — steaming, with no bubbles breaking the surface — for 20 minutes.

   ⏱20 min
4. 4
   • red wine 7½ dl
   • lemon 1
   • whole clove 6
   • white sugar 60 g

   Taste and balance — Taste and adjust: another spoonful of sugar if the wine is sharp, a squeeze more lemon if it tastes flat. Fish out the cloves and lemon peel, which turn bitter if they steep much longer.

5. 5
   • orange 1
   • star anise 3

   Serve hot in glasses — Ladle into heatproof glasses, dropping a slice of orange and a star anise into each. Serve at once, and keep any leftovers at the same gentle heat rather than reheating them hard.