Mulled wine

The scent of  cinnamon  and  cloves ,  cardamom  and  oranges is seductive  – especially when it flows from the steam of the mulled wine into the cold noses of the Christmas market visitors. However, the belief that warm alcohol can warm up cold feet and ears over the long term is deceptive. What’s the good in mulled wine? And what warming alternatives are there?

Mulled wine with a warming effect?

Nothing against a sip of mulled wine on a cold winter’s day – just don’t rely too much on its warming effect. Drinking alcohol in the frosty outside air gives off a deceptive warmth: ethanol dilates the blood vessels so that more blood reaches the surface of the skin. The body gives off the heat all the faster.

This effect is over after  a short feeling of warmth  , you freeze more than before. On the other hand, if you drink your mulled wine in a warm room, your body gets its money’s worth.

Cinnamon, cloves and cardamom as ingredients

Mulled wine is very popular, as evidenced by increasing numbers. Around 50 million liters of mulled wine were consumed in Germany last year. No wonder, because it tastes delicious and is even said to be healthy. Let’s start with the good and completely harmless ingredients:

• Cinnamon:  An essential mulled wine spice, it stimulates the body to produce digestive juices. It is a good remedy for bloating and is even said to have an aphrodisiac effect. Around 350 BC, the Greek philosopher Theophrastos praised cinnamon as a delicious spice, especially with wine. Incidentally, the best cinnamon comes from Ceylon from the real cinnamon tree and is very light.
• Cardamom:  It is said to have an appetizing effect. It also helps against  flatulence .
• Cloves:  Above all, they smell good, have an antibacterial and digestive effect. Cloves and their healing effects were already known in ancient China and Egypt. Arab traders brought them to Europe in Roman times.

Mulled wine: calories in alcohol

In fact, the spices in mulled wine trigger positive feelings and emotions through the essential oils via the olfactory receptors. And everyone knows that drinking alcohol in moderation makes you happy.

Still harmless, but a calorie bomb, is the  sugar content  in mulled wine. Without the sugar, however, the drink wouldn’t really  taste good . There are between 80 and 100 calories per 100 milliliters in it, with a large cup quickly adding up to 200 calories in mulled wine.

Alcohol content in mulled wine

The alcohol content of mulled wine is legally required  to be seven percent, but  on average it is between nine and ten percent – it only evaporates again when it boils. This is even checked: so-called mulled wine controls sometimes take place at Christmas markets.

The alcohol in sugary (and also carbonated) drinks gets into the blood very quickly because the intestinal mucosa absorbs the alcohol faster through the sugar. According to the German Society for Nutrition, a quarter liter of wine contains around 20 grams of pure alcohol. The body breaks down 0.1 grams per kilogram of body weight per hour. That means: A man weighing 80 kilos needs around 2.5 hours, a woman weighing 60 kilos three hours to break down the alcohol.

Healthy alternatives to mulled wine

Fortunately, there are non-alcoholic alternatives that are just as fragrant and warming: hot, sweetened  tea  or  punch  made from apple or elderberry juice. The ingredients here are basically the same as in the basic recipe: cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, possibly also aniseed and  vanilla , orange and lemon slices. Only the red wine is replaced by grape juice or apple juice and orange juice.

Mulled wine recipe for 1 liter

• Boil about ½ liter of water, let 2 teabags of fruit tea steep in it for 5 minutes
• 1 small glass each of apple juice and orange juice, alternatively elderberry juice
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon, 2 cloves, pinch of cardamom, some vanilla sugar
• for sweetening candy sugar or  honey  according to taste