The Best Hot Homemade Wassail Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is wassail drink made of? ›

What is Wassail? Wassail is like the tastier sister to Apple Cider. Traditional wassail was made with hard liquor, apples, brandy, and other spices. This recipe is made with cloves, apples, cinnamon, lemon, orange, ginger, and nutmeg and is a nonalcoholic wassail recipe.

Because wassail is made with fruit juices and spices such as cinnamon and ginger, it can be soothing for a cold, and may even be helpful in easing congestion.

In the cider-producing counties in the South West of England (primarily Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire, and Herefordshire) or South East England (Kent, Sussex, Essex, and Suffolk), as well as Jersey, wassailing refers to a traditional ceremony that involves singing and drinking to the health of ...

A sweetened blend of black currant, apple, and lemon juices, with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, and orange peel, Trader Joe's Winter Wassail is a fruit punch whose flavors and aromas evoke the holidays. You can serve it chilled, over ice with bourbon; or warmed, in a big mug, with a cinnamon stick garnish.

The tradition of wassailing (alt sp wasselling) falls into two distinct categories: the house-visiting wassail and the orchard-visiting wassail.

By wassailing their crops in the winter, it was said to ensure a healthy crop in the spring. As Christianity began to spread, this ritual evolved further into singing and drinking to the health of next season's crops on Twelfth Night; the last night of the traditional Christmas season.

Wassailing is an age-old West Country tradition to awaken the apple trees and scare evil spirits away to bring on a plentiful harvest. It's still widely popular in the cider-producing counties of the West Country, including Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset and Herefordshire.

The word 'wassail' comes from the Anglo-Saxon phrase 'waes hael', which means 'good health'. Originally, the wassail was a drink made of mulled ale, curdled cream, roasted apples, eggs, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and sugar. It was served from huge bowls, often made of silver or pewter.

A 1904 menu book, which recorded a lot of what the Vanderbilts ate that year, shows the family enjoyed sumptuous holiday feasts including oysters, consommé royale, Spanish mackerel, and even calves' brains with mushroom sauce and a fashionable salad of celery served with Virginia ham.

The word “wassail” comes from the Middle English toast, “waes hael”, meaning “be thou hale”, which in turn means “be in good health”. The phrase, “waes hael” dates back to pre-Norman times, so if you do decide to get outside and try a quick wassail, you'll be following a time-honoured tradition.

Is wassailing pagan? ›

The history of wassail is as long as it is varied. The earliest mention of wassail is in the pagan ritual of Apple Wassailing dating back to the English Middle Ages. This drinking ritual was to ensure a good apple harvest and would have occurred on the old Twelfth Night (January 17).

In the Welsh tradition, when wassailing house to house, the group would sing Welsh language songs and indulge in a ritual known as 'pwnco' which is an exchange of rhymes with the householder.

There are very few differences between mulled cider and Wassail Punch. Both contain spices and some juice. One of the main differences is that mulled wine is often made with whole oranges. However, Wassail is traditionally made with apple juice.

The history of wassail is as long as it is varied. The earliest mention of wassail is in the pagan ritual of Apple Wassailing dating back to the English Middle Ages. This drinking ritual was to ensure a good apple harvest and would have occurred on the old Twelfth Night (January 17).