Wassail! A history & recipe of a very festive winter drink
Today we’re making a new recipe for an ancient winter drink - Wassail! I looked for the original recipe, and couldn’t believe how many renditions there are for this festive, hot, punch-like drink. I saw recipes calling for hard cider, beer, wine, brandy, mead, and even some nonalcoholic variations. The origins of Wassail date back to pre-christian England, when midwinter festivals were held in the orchards (it’s still celebrated like this in some places). Over time, the drink became associated with Christmas, and traditions surrounding it remain popular today (caroling came from wassailing). With a drink this old, the recipes, like its traditions, were bound to evolve - so I’ve made my own recipe to share with you today! Whether you enjoy Wassail for Christmas, the holidays in general, or plan on sharing it with your fruit trees - stay warm and be merry. Happy holidays, everyone! Waes Hael!
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TIME STAMPS
Intro: 0:00
The History: 0:39
The Booze: 3:20
The Recipe: 5:12
Sips & Sign off: 7:49
THE WASSAIL RECIPE 5:12
3 cups (24 oz./ ~720 ml) unfiltered apple juice (nonalcoholic cider)
2 cups (16 oz./ ~480 ml) Lustau Amontillado Los Arcos Sherry
1 cup (8 oz./ ~240 ml) Begyle Brewing Christmas Ale (or favorite dark beer)
1/2 cup (4 oz./ ~120 ml) Laird’s Straight Apple Brandy Bottled in Bond
1/2 cup (~125 g) Demerara sugar
8 whole cloves
8 allspice berries
4 cinnamon sticks
4 cardamom pods
4 slices of fresh ginger
Dried apple slices for garnish
THE TOOLS
The induction burner:
Comparable induction pot with lid:
My workhorse double jigger:
Bar spoon:
Muslin bags:
Measuring cup:
Serrated knife:
Electric kettle:
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Image attributions:
- wassailing image 1: Stephen and Helen Jones from England, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- Wassailing image 2: Brian Marks, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
- Wassailing image 3: Glyn Baker / Anointing
- Wassail Image: Jeremy Tarling from London, United Kingdom
Let's Party! Christmas Wassail + Three EASY Appetizers
Hello, friends -- Please join me today as I prepare an ancient beverage called Wassail. Also included in this episode are THREE super-simple (and super-delicious!) nibbles. Recipes are written out below:
*9-inch Jadeite Cake Stand:
*Pastry Cloth:
*French Rolling Pin:
*Royal Blue Hoodie:
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CLASSIC WASSAIL
2 apples (such as 'Honey Crisp')
15-20 cloves for studding the apples
8 cups (1.9 liters) pure apple cider
2 cups (470mls) orange juice
1/3 cup (80mls) lemon juice
4 cinnamon sticks
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Stud the apples with the cloves, and then place the apples in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the remaining ingredients, stir to combine, and then bring to a simmer on the stove top. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, and then strain and serve.
SAUSAGE AND CHEESE PUFF PASTRY PINWHEELS
1 sheet frozen Puff Pastry dough, thawed but cold
1 beaten egg
2/3 cup (a large handful) shredded cheese (melty cheeses such as Italian Blend or Mexican Blend work well here)
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves or Italian seasoning
2 sweet Italian sausage links, cooked and crumbled
Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Unfold the puff pastry dough, and then roll it out to remove creases.
Brush egg wash in a one inch border across the end of the dough that is the farthest away from you
Sprinkle the cheese and then the crumbled meat over the dough, taking care to avoid the strip of egg wash.
Starting at the end closest to you, tightly roll the pastry into a cylinder. The strip of egg wash will help the cylinder to hold together. (If the dough has softened considerably, chill it in the freezer for 5 minutes.)
Cut crosswise into 1/2-inch rounds; place each round on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake until the pastry puffs and browns lightly --12-15 minutes. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
SAUSAGE AND PINEAPPLE BITES
Polish Kielbasa or Turkey Kielbasa
1 can pineapple chunks
Thai sweet chili sauce in a squeeze bottle
Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Cut the sausage into 1/2 inch coins, topping each coin with a chunk of pineapple. Insert a wooden skewer or toothpick to hold the sausage and pineapple together. Place on a baking sheet, and heat for just 5 minutes in the preheated oven. Retrieve from oven and give the pineapple a short squirt of the chili sauce. Bake for additional 5 minutes . Serve hot, warm, or even cold.
CUCUMBER AND SMOKED SALMON BITES
1 English cucumber
Smoked salmon
2 tablespoons of softened cream cheese
Chopped fresh dill
Cut the cucumber into 1/4 - 1/2-inch rounds. Top each round with a small piece of the smoked salmon. Pipe a small dollop of the cream cheese on top of the salmon. Top with a small sprig of dill, gently pressing the dill against the cream cheese to secure it. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Easy Wassail Recipe|How Make Wassail (To Your Crockpot)
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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What the heck is Wassail?
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PHOTO CREDITS
Mari Lwyd: By R. fiend - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
Apple Wassail in Devon, England: By Brian Marks - CC BY 2.0,
Twelfth Night Tradition: Glyn Baker and licenced for reuse under cc-by-sa/2.0
Bridport Community Orchard Wassail 2022: Stephen and Helen Jones via Flickr
#tastinghistory #wassail #christmas
The Holiday Tradition You Didn't Know You Needed - Wassail Punch
Make this homemade wassail recipe to evoke all those holiday feels and conjure up memories of times spent together.
Wassail is traditionally a warm cider drink with the flavors of apple cider, orange juice and mulling spices (like cinnamon and clove) served during the holidays.
Mix this up for your next gathering and enjoy the delicious aroma as it fills your home.
Grab the full recipe on the BLOG:
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