Period Recipes
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Wassail – Mulled Ale
Wassail is an old tradition, going back to pre-Norman England and possibly earlier. There seem to be at least two kinds of wassailing: one kind carried door to door in a large wooden bowl to toast neighbours, and one to visit apple orchards (particular to apple-growing regions) or fields and livestock to ask for a good growing and harvesting season in the coming year and to scare away evil spirits. Like lots of old, regional traditions, it’s pretty confused and tangled-in with other traditions. Those traditions might have been unique from one village or family to the next, all in place for hundreds of years before anyone thought to write…
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Mulled Wine – Glühwein
Glühwein translates as ‘glowing wine,’ and I agree that it adds a glow to the season. In my time at the Toronto Christmas Market, the smell of mulled wine was one of the most evocative scents of the season, and a glass of it at the end of a long, cold day sent me home with a warmth in my heart. People have been drinking spiced wines since the Roman period at least, and the earliest recipe that we have is from 1390, which is older than any of the other recipes I’ve been able to find for my other festive drinks. This is another drink that was given to…
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Eggnog
I have never been an eggnog fan, at least not of the stuff I usually see at festive events – the eggnog that comes in a carton from the store. But I always thought I might like it a lot more if I tried making it from scratch, and this weekend my sisters and I decided to try it out – and I was right. In the older sources I can find, Eggnog is characterized as ‘an American drink,’ though it’s thought to be related to the old English possets. It’s often considered a good drink for people who are ill. I’ve read several times in modern recipes, without any…
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Lamb’s Wool
Lamb’s Wool is an old recipe, a drink that was made in celebration during the dark, festive season, often as part of the tradition of wassailing – in this case, a kind-of ritual toasting the apple orchards (and often other crops, fields, and livestock) to ask for a good harvest in the coming year. In the photo below, I’ve included some real rovings of natural wool from a sheep, so you can see that the colour is actually quite close to real wool. it also has a thick texture, that’s comforting, warm, and hearty. When I decided to try making it, I had a lot of research to do. Years…
