This recipe is for days when you feel like something warm, Christmassy, and non-alcoholic. It's the perfect thing to make alongside glühwein for parties. This is a super easy recipe, perfect for a snowy day like the one we are having now in Zürich.
Side story - if you ever visit a Swedish Christmas market, because of strict alcohol laws, you'll actually find yourself sipping non-alcoholic glögg (the Swedish version of glühwein, although far sweeter - more like undiluted cordial - with some almonds and raisins sprinkled in the bottom of the tiny cup), as it's forbidden to sell alcohol in public places.
You'll need:
- Two liters of cloudy apple juice - I find this far more delicious than normal apple juice, and it's often not as sweet. Bonus - the antioxidants in cloudy apple juice are twice as high as in clear apple juice, so this is almost healthy!
- 1 cinnamon stick broken in half
- 5 or so whole cloves
- The rind of one lemon and one orange
- 5 cardamon pods
- diced fresh ginger - around 2 tablespoons.
Place all the ingredients in a pot and warm very slowly on the stove. I like to put mine on one of the lowest heat settings and allow it to warm over thirty or forty minutes, giving time for the spices to infuse into the juice. Then simple strain the juice as you serve. Enjoy!
In bonus news, we bought our Christmas tree on Friday during a snow storm, which was very fitting, although slightly inconvenient as it meant we had to leave it outside our apartment to dry for a night. We decorated it yesterday during another snow storm, just before going to see the Nutcracker, so things are feeling very lovely and wintry here in Switzerland.
