And now time for a seasonal drink. The history of mulling wine is a long one dating back to medieval times when one version of mulled wine was called Hipocris named after Hippocrates. Rather than mulling wine, our drinks specialist Fiona Beckett decided to give things a distinctly appley twist as she demonstrated to our reporter, Simon Parkes
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Fiona Beckett's recipe for Mulled cider with sweet roasted apples
My favourite Christmas drink - popular with everyone. Use a good quality dry cider not a modern ‘white’ cider or draught cider which can be too strong
Makes 12-14 servings
Ingredients 1 litre premium English cider 250ml Somerset cider brandy or calvados 1.5 litres cloudy English apple juice A thinly pared strip of lemon rind 2 sticks of cinnamon 8 cloves For the roasted apples 10-12 small Cox’s apples About 75g light muscovado sugar 100ml premium English cider
Method Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Wash and core the apples and score them around their middles. Put them in a baking dish and stuff the centre of each with the sugar. (It’s easiest to do this with the handle of a spoon or fork). Splash over the cider and roast in the oven until soft and beginning to split (45-50 minutes).
Meanwhile put the cider, cider brandy or calvados, and apple juice in a large pan, together with the lemon zest, cinnamon and cloves. Heat through gently then leave over a very low heat until the apples are cooked without allowing the mixture to boil. When the apples are ready, tip them and their juices into the mulled cider. Taste, adding a little extra sugar if you think it needs it. Serve straight from the pan into heat resistant glasses or cups or transfer to a warmed bowl.
