WASSAIL FROM OLDE ENGLAND

The following recipe for wassail is adapted from Food in England by Dorothy Squires in the 1700s.

Ingredients 1 lb. of soft brown sugar 4 pints of ale 1 whole nutmeg grated (1 Tablespoonful of freshly grated or 3 Tablespoonsful of ground) 1/3 cup of crystallized ginger pieces 1 ½ pints sherry 3 pints dark beer 8 small tart apples, like Cox’s orange pippins (any pippin will do)

Method 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Place the apples on a baking sheet and roast for 15-20 minutes. The skins should look as though they are starting to burst. 3. Grate the nutmeg in a nutmeg/spice/microplane grater (blenders don’t work well). 4. Chop the ginger into small pieces, or whizz it in a blender with some of the ale. 5. Add all the liquids to a large pot with the sugar and spices. 6. Stir to make sure the sugar is melting and not caramelizing on the pot bottom. 7. When it is simmering, before it starts to boil, add the roasted apples, and serve.

Note: Apart from adapting her recipe, we left out the steps where Dorothy added toast covered with yeast and bottled her wassail to ferment it. Novices will end up with a huge exploded bottles clean-up!

CYDER WASSAIL This is adapted from an old Suffolk recipe.

Ingredients 6 teaspoons soft brown sugar 1 orange cut in half 6 cloves 2 liters cider 200g caster sugar 300mls port 2 cinnamon sticks 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 300mls sherry/Madeira 1 lemon, halved

Method 1. In a large pot, heat all the ingredients until it reaches boiling point. 2. Serve, or lower heat to slow simmer until ready to serve.

Courtesy of the Daughters of the British Empire in the USA · dbenational.org · Holidays 2020