Glögg, gløgg or glögi ( da, gløgg, no, gløgg, sv, glögg, is, glögg, fo, gløgg, fi, glögi, et, glögi) is a spiced, usually

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

mulled wine Mulled wine, also known as spiced wine, is an alcoholic drink usually made with red wine, along with various mulling spices and sometimes raisins, served hot or warm. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas. It is us ...

spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

. It is a traditional Nordic drink during winter, especially around Christmas. In the Nordic countries, hot wine has been a common drink since at least the 16th century. The original form of glögg, a spiced liquor, was consumed by messengers and postmen who travelled on horseback or skis in cold weather. Since the early 19th century, glögg has been a common winter drink, mixed and warmed with juice,

syrup In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars ...

, and sometimes with a splash of harder spirits or

punsch Punsch (or ''punssi'' in Finnish language, Finnish) refers to a specific type of alcoholic liqueur and Punch (drink), punch popular in Sweden and Finland. It is most frequently described as ''Swedish Punsch'', and while historical variations have ...

. Glögg recipes vary widely; variations commonly start with white or sweet wine or spirits such as brandy or cognac. The production of glögg begins by boiling water and adding spices to it. After a few minutes of simmering, the mixture is sieved and fruit juice, wine or clear spirits are added. Other versions begin by warming up the wine, alcohol, and sugar (not boiling it) and letting the spices steep in it overnight. The most common spices in glögg are

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, s ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are rec ...

and

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

. Other common ingredients can include citrus peel from oranges or lemons,

raisins A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the da ...

, or

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

s. Glögg can also be made without alcohol by replacing the wine with fruit or berry juices. In shops ready-made glögg is usually based on

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

juice, sometimes also blackcurrant juice, mixed fruit juice,

apple juice Apple juice is a fruit juice made by the maceration and pressing of an apple. The resulting expelled juice may be further treated by enzymatic and centrifugal clarification to remove the starch and pectin, which holds fine particulate in suspe ...

or wine. There are also stronger, rum-based types of glögg. Ready-made glögg from shops is warmed up before use, but if it is wine-based or high in alcohol content, it should not be heated to

boiling point The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid equals the pressure surrounding the liquid and the liquid changes into a vapor. The boiling point of a liquid varies depending upon the surrounding envir ...

. It is common to add whole almonds or raisins to glögg while it is being warmed up or just before drinking. Glögg came to Finland from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The Finnish word ''glögi'' comes from the Swedish word ''glögg'', which in turn comes from the words ''glödgat vin'' or hot wine. At the end of the 19th century, glögg mixed with wine was drunk, but due to

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, consumption of glögg almost stopped completely. When prohibition was lifted in the 1930s glögg was advertised in

Fenno-Swedish Finland Swedish or Fenno-Swedish ( sv, finlandssvenska; fi, suomenruotsi) is a general term for the variety of the Swedish language and a closely related group of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland by the Swedish-speaking population, commonly a ...

magazines, and in the 1950s and 60s, the drinking of glögg was a Fenno-Swedish tradition. At the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s, glögg recipes began to also appear in Finnish language magazines, after which glögg became a Christmas tradition in the whole of Finland. While mulled wine was long known and popular in Estonia, Swedish-style glögg spread into Estonia only in the 1990s, after the country re-opened to outside influences following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Local commercial production of glögg started in 1995.

References

External links

Get Into The Holiday Spirit With Scandinavian Glogg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glogg Alcoholic drinks Hot drinks Nordic Christmas traditions Christmas in Denmark Christmas in Sweden Christmas in Norway Christmas in Finland

See also

References

External links