Spiced Cranberry Wassail
A mixture of cranberry, orange, and lemon juice steeped with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and ginger.
Ingredients
Wassail
- 64 ounces cranberry juice bottled
- 4 cups fresh orange juice
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 - 1 cup cane sugar
Spice sachet
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 10 whole cloves
- 6 allspice berries optional
- zest from 1/2 orange
- zest from 1/2 lemon
- slice of fresh or candied ginger
Instructions
-
Combine juices in a nonreactive pot and stir in 1/2 cup sugar. Taste the mixture to determine if more sweetener is needed and adjust according to your taste. Heat just until steam begins to rise from the mixture.
-
Combine the spices, zest, and ginger in a piece of cheesecloth. Gather the edges and tie them together so the spices can't fall out.
-
Drop sachet bag into steaming cranberry juice mixture. Press the sachet down into the juices. Continue to heat wassail without boiling for 5-7 minutes. DO NOT BOIL. Cover pot with a lid and allow to steep for 20 minutes. Remove lid and sachet. Serve.
-
Wassail can be made in advance and refrigerated. Reheat and serve. Can be made at least 1 week in advance.
Recipe Notes
- I used bottled cranberry juice. Unsweetened can be used. Sugar amount will need to be adjusted according to taste.
- Some oranges are sweeter than others, which will change the tartness of the wassail.
- I only used fresh orange juice, but bottled can be used. This would decrease the amount of sugar.
- Simmer in a stainless steel or enamel covered pot. Aluminum, cast iron, or copper can give the wassail a metallic taste.
- Fresh pressed apple juice can be used which will add more sweetness, but the color won't be as vibrant. It will still be delicious.
- Whole spices work best. I don't recommend using ground spices.
- Wassail is so soothing when sick. I love drinking this when I have a cold.
- DO NOT BOIL. Boiling the wassail kind of makes the citrus pulp curdle. It doesn't look so pretty.