Glögg is made with a robust red wine, such as a chianti, and traditionally served with lussekatter (saffron buns), ginger snaps, raisins, and almonds.
This recipe comes to us courtesy of Marie Larsson of the Swedish-Canadian Chamber of Commerce. It is her family's recipe -- every Swedish family has their own favourite variation, but the main ingredients are the same.
This recipe is enough to mull one 750 ml bottle of red wine.
- 200 ml water
- 1 "thumb" of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced or 2 tsp crushed
- 100 ml darkest sugar (Muscovado or Demerara sugar)
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 10 whole cloves
- Zest of 1 large orange
- 1 grated nutmeg
- 5 or 6 cardamom pods
Bring these ingredients to a boil, then let simmer (low heat) for ½ hour. Keep an eye on the amount of liquid - add water if it requires.
Remove pot from heat and let sit for several hours (overnight if possible) to let the ingredients infuse into the liquids.
Strain the liquid into a jar. You can reserve the non-liquid ingredients to use as a base for another batch of glögg by adding sugar, water, and orange zest.
Add liquid and one 750ml bottle of red wine to a pot (must hold at least 1 litre). Warm gently (on low heat to avoid evaporating the alcohol) for a few minutes just before you serve it. Serve lukewarm in glögg gups if you have them, otherwise glass mugs will do!
