Recipe
Berry Glögg with Blueberry, Raspberry and Vanilla
A fruity, full-bodied glögg with blueberries, raspberries, vanilla and classic glögg spices. The base is svagdricka (a Swedish low-alcohol malt drink), fermented into a rounded, spiced, berry-rich glögg. For extra warmth, round it off with a little more sugar and a splash of rum after fermentation.
Ingredients
About 6 litres
- 6 litres svagdricka (Swedish low-alcohol malt drink)
- 10 potatoes
- 1 bag cinnamon sticks
- 1 bag cardamom seeds
- 1 bag whole cloves
- 1 small piece dried ginger
- 4 vanilla pods, split and scraped
- Zest of 2 oranges, orange part only
- 500 g blueberries
- 500 g raspberries
- 2 kg caster sugar
Method
- Put the blueberries, raspberries, vanilla pods, vanilla seeds and 500 g of the sugar in a saucepan together with 3 litres of water.
- Bring to the boil and let the berries simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Pour the svagdricka into a thoroughly cleaned fermentation bucket.
- Add the potatoes, cinnamon stick, cardamom seeds, cloves, ginger and orange zest.
- Pour the hot berry mixture into the fermentation bucket.
- Add a further 1 kg of sugar and stir thoroughly.
- Let the mixture cool to a suitable temperature for the yeast.
- Add the yeast starter according to the instructions on the packet.
- Leave the glögg to ferment somewhere suitable.
- Once fermentation is complete, taste the glögg. Add a little more sugar if you want a rounder, sweeter flavour.
- For a fuller, more grown-up note, the glögg can also be rounded off with a splash of rum.
- Strain out the berries, spices and other solids.
- Let the glögg stand somewhere cool so the sediment settles to the bottom.
- Carefully pour the glögg into clean bottles without including the sediment.
Serving
Serve the glögg warm in small cups or glasses. The berry flavour pairs nicely with classic Christmas accompaniments such as gingerbread, almonds and raisins, but also with dark chocolate or dessert.
Tips
- Take care to use only the outermost orange zest from the oranges. The white pith can give a bitter taste.
- Taste the glögg after fermentation and adjust the sweetness gradually, as the berries can make the flavour fresher and more tart than a classic glögg.
- Fermented glögg improves with age. Save a few bottles for next year – the flavour becomes rounder and more mellow over time.