Mulled Cider

With Christmas comes the use of mulling spices to liven alcohols and soften moods. Whilst wine is the usual booze of choice when it comes to mulling, cider is another viable option, using a similar concoction of spices but with the addition of dried fruit such as raisins to sweeten and a vanilla pod if you are feeling fancy.

Start first by zesting an orange into a pan. Chop the orange in half then stud it with cloves. To that add 100g of sugar and a handful of raisins, then the rest of the whole spices...
A cinnamon stick
A vanilla pod
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cardamon pods
And a roughly chopped thumb of ginger

Then add the cider. We normally use a 3L bottle which you can pick up at most supermarkets and corner shops, the kind often seen suspiciously full discarded by park benches - it will lose the fix as you mull it.  Heat this gently (never boiling as you don't want to lose the alcohol) for at least 30 minutes. The flavours will continue to improve the longer you leave it and the house will smell frankly divine.

Press the fruit to release a little of their juice and serve in heatproof glasses or mugs with a dash of dark rum and fine grating of nutmeg. Don't throw away the fruit - sprinkle the raisins over the top of ice cream or stir them into cream before serving with a christmas pudding.

Enjoy!

J and L