MAKING GLOGG AND OTHER SWEDISH CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS || BLOGMAS
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Hello everybody!
We always spend the holidays with my mom’s side of the family, who is all Swedish. Because of this we have became accustomed to a few Swedish traditions for the holiday ( warning: all of them involve food haha).
Kringle
We always have Kringle, which is a Scandinavian pastry that is amazing , as an option for breakfast and my favorite flavor is almond. It’s to die for, and obviously very sweet because its Christmas time and why not have something sweet for breakfast? I don’t know why we don’t have these all year round but we just don’t, its strictly for Christmas in this family.
Spritz
These are probably my favorite Christmas cookie ever. It is an almond flavored cookie and its just great. If you ever come across them pick them up because YUM.
Bond-Ost
I’m pretty sure this is technically an American-Swedish food but I’m not positive. It is kinda like a cheddar cheese but like better I don’t know how to describe it haha but it is the best cheese to make grilled cheese with hands down! You can get it two ways, with caraway seeds and without, and I hate the caraway seeds I think they are disgusting but the one without the seeds is BOMB.
Glögg
Okay, now onto what I really wanted to talk about! GLÖGG! Glögg is basically a Scandinavian mulled wine that I want to try and make because I’ve never had it before and according to my mom my grandparents used to really like it. I also thought that now would be a good time to make it because I turned 21 this year so why not make something alcoholic, right?
I picked up a Glögg spice mix from a local Swedish shop and looked up some recipes online, they provide one on the back of the mix but its lame and I found better. I ended up using this one:
Pour the red wine and port into a stainless-steel or porcelain kettle. Do not use an aluminum or copper pot since these metals interact with the wine and brandy to impart a metallic taste. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, orange peel, raisins, and almonds. Cover and simmer.
Put the sugar in a pan and soak it with half the brandy. Warm over a medium-low flame and stir occasionally until it becomes a clear, golden syrup and all the sugar is dissolved (at right). Let it simmer for about 15 minutes until the tiny bubbles become large burbles. This starts caramelizing of the sugar and adds a layer of flavor.
Add the sugar syrup to the spiced wine mix. Cover and let it simmer over a low heat for an hour.
It stated smelling heavenly, all the spices mixing together. We let it cool down a little before serving and let me tell you it is amazing! It has a very strong alcohol smell but it tastes delightful!
Glögg is a perfect holiday drink to feel festive with. It is perfect for the cold winter nights right before Christmas (not so much this year since its going to be 61 degrees but still).This is definitely becoming a new Christmas tradition for my family!
Do you have any Christmas Traditions that relate to your heritage? tell me about them in the comments!
Do you have any Christmas Traditions that relate to your heritage? tell me about them in the comments!
See you soon!
X Emily
0 comments