Holiday drink recipe: Tudor Dinners’ classic wassail bowl
By Emily Connor
Family holidays are often filled with warmth and tradition. And the Wisconsin Union family is no exception. For over 70 years, the Union has hosted Tudor Dinners, a holiday dinner and madrigal concert series, in Memorial Union. Union members, family and friends all gather in Great Hall to listen to carols and celebrate the season together.
The dinners would never be quite as special without everyone’s favorite traditional drink: the wassail bowl. Wisconsin Union catering manager Steve Lucas said the classic cinnamon wine drink is a must-have at the Tudor Dinners. “It’s definitely something that everybody tries when they get here and they love it,” said Steve.
But the actual history of Wassail dates back centuries before it appeared at the Wisconsin Union. In Southern England during the Middle Ages, communities would gather to “wassail” together in order to ensure a healthy apple crop and hearty harvest. The gathering act and ceremony was meant to awaken the cider trees and scare away evil spirits. Thus, the term wassail is derived from the Middle English phrase wæs hæil meaning “good health.”
As a traditional part of the ceremony, community members would enjoy the wassail bowl. Back then, the drink was more like a mulled beer with sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Although the recipe has been slightly updated in the last few centuries, the feeling of warmth and good tidings wassail provides continue to make it a classic holiday drink.
While the Union’s special recipe for wassail remains a heavily guarded secret, the recipe below is an adapted version of this traditional holiday drink. With minimal effort, you can enjoy this holiday classic in your very own home.
Classic Wassail
- 6 Fuji apples, cored
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup fresh orange juice
- 24 ounces ale
- 2 bottles Madeira (or any type of good burgundy wine)
- 10 whole cloves
- 10 whole allspice berries
- 1 cinnamon stick, 2-inches long
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Put the apples into an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish. Spoon the brown sugar into the center of each apple, dividing the sugar evenly among them. Pour the water and orange juice into the bottom of the dish and bake until tender, about 45 minutes.
Pour the ale and Madeira into a large saucepan or slow cooker. Put the cloves, allspice, and cinnamon into a small muslin bag or cheesecloth, tied with kitchen twine, and add to the slow cooker along with the ginger and nutmeg. Set the heat to medium and bring the mixture to at least 120 degrees F. Do not boil.
Add the apples and the liquid from the baking dish to the wassail and stir to combine. Ladle into cups and serve.
For more recipes and variations of Wassail, you can visit All Recipes, Food Network, and Simply Recipes(non-alcoholic wassail).
