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Wassail

Name: Wassail
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: United Kingdom
Ingredients: 1L Hard Cider; 500ml Apple Juice; 1 Orange; 2 (small) Apple; 3 tbsp Brown Sugar; 2 Cinnamon Stick; 8 Cloves; 1/2 tsp Allspice; a pinch Nutmeg

Drink

⏱ 40 min

👥 Serves 8

Difficulty ⭐

Wassail is a traditional English hot drink for midwinter and Christmas: hard cider warmed with apple juice, spices, and roasted apples.

🍷 Please drink responsibly and only if you are of legal drinking age. Avoid alcohol if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or driving.

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📖 The Story Behind This Drink

The name comes from an old English toast meaning "be in good health." Since medieval times, bowls of wassail were passed around at Christmas and carried from house to house with songs. In apple country, January orchard wassailing ceremonies to bless the trees for a good harvest still take place.

🌆 Where it’s enjoyed: On a midwinter night in a West Country orchard, torches are lit and songs sung to the trees, then everyone shares hot wassail from a big pot.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 8)

Hard Cider 1L
Apple Juice 500ml
Orange 1
Apple 2 (small)
Brown Sugar 3 tbsp
Cinnamon Stick 2
Cloves 8
Allspice 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg a pinch

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Core the apples and roast at 180°C for 25 minutes, until the skins wrinkle and they turn soft.
Stud the orange with the cloves.
Put the cider, apple juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and clove-studded orange in a pot and warm over low heat for 15 minutes. Don’t let it boil.
Float the roasted apples in the pot.
Ladle into cups, adding a little roasted apple if you like.

💡 Tips for Success

The foamy look of bursting roasted apples once earned it the name "lambswool."
An older version uses ale instead of cider.
Made with apple juice only, it’s an alcohol-free version for kids. Please drink responsibly and only if of legal drinking age.

🍽 Goes Well With

Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding

Lancashire Hotpot

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