Ever heard of the word "wassail" before? Most likely, you have probably sung it in a Christmas song and may not have even realized that you said the word... or know what that words means. For example, have you sung, "
Here we come a-wassailing. Among the leaves so green"?
So... what is wassail? The first written documentation of this word is from the 8th century story of Beowulf. "They would willingly wait on the wassailing-benches" and "The well-fashioned wassail-hall wondrous and gleaming" (Beowulf). For centuries, wassail has been known as a mulled spice drink, typically drunk around Christmas. Wassail typically had ale or muscadine in it, along with various spices and toast. It was served hot in a large carved wooden bowl. It was passed around a gathering of people to share in the drink. The bowl would be raised above their heads and shout "Wassail!". This is how the tradition of raising our glasses for a toast began. (Wassail!)
When talking of wassail, you may also hear of Lamb's Wool. Wassail is made with cider, while Lamb's Wool is made with ale. The rest of the recipe is pretty much the same. In today's world, think of a Hot Toddy.
The earliest written recipe that I can find for Wassail is in Robert May's The Accomplisht Cook from 1660.
Original Recipe:
To make a Wassel.
Take muskedine or ale, and set it on the fire to warm, then boil a
quart of cream and two or three whole cloves, then have the yolks of
three or four eggs dissolved with a little cream; the cream being well
boiled with the spices, put in the eggs and stir them well together,
then have sops or sippets of fine manchet or french bread, put them in a
bason, and pour in the warm wine, with some sugar and thick cream on
that; stick it with blanched almonds and cast on cinamon, ginger, and
sugar, or wafers, sugar plate, or comfits. (
May - 296)
Another Recipe:
There are other historical recipes that existed. In fact, it appears that there is no specific one recipe for this delicious drink.
"The following is the recipe of 1722 of Sir Watkin Williams Wynne.
Take one lb. of brown sugar, 1 pint of hot beer a grated nutmeg, and a
large lump of preserved ginger root cut up. Add 4 glasses of sherry, and
stir well. When cold,
dilute with 5 pints of cold beer, spred suspicion of yeast on to hot
slices of toasted brown bread, and let it stand covered for several
hours. Bottle off and seal
down, and in a few days it shoud be bursting the corks, when it should
be poured out into the wassail bowl, and served with hot, roasted apples
floated in it." --Food in England, Dorothy Hartley [Macdonald: London] 1954, 2009 (p. 549)
More historical recipes can be found here.
Is There a Non-Alcoholic Version of Wassail?
Looking at the different historical recipes that I found, I decided to try making a simple apple cider, which is non-alcoholic.
For anyone looking to add an extra kick to their drink, then I suggest using this cider as you would make a Hot Toddy. Pour the cider into a cup, add a splash of whatever alcohol you prefer (sherry, vodka, etc.), and heat it up in a microwave (or stove top if you prefer to be a little more historically accurate).
Ingredients:
10 apples
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground clove (or ginger)
1/4 cup orange juice (optional)
Instructions:
Quarter and core the apples. Put the apples in a large pot and cover the apples with water. Add in the sugar and spices. Stir ingredients together. Boil for 1 hour (uncovered). Then, simmer for 1-2 hours (covered) until the apples are easy to mash up. Allow the apples to cool. Once cool, pour the apple liquid through a strainer into a large bowl. Serve and enjoy!
If you serve this drink in a large punch bowl, then I recommend taking an orange and putting cloves all around the orange. Then, slice the orange into small slices. Place the cloved orange slices into the punch bowl (these slices will be floating on top).
In my personal opinion, this drink tastes best when served warm.
If you want your drink to be more sweet, then add in 1 cup instead of 1/2 cup of sugar. If you want your drink to have more spice, then add in 1/2 Tbsp instead of 1 tsp of ground clove.
For video instructions, please click here.
