Delicious UK – (01)January 2021

Susy’swassa

mulledcidercu

MAKES4 CUPFULS.HAND

TIME 10 MIN

SUSY’S

TIP

I useFiveYearO

SomersetCider

forthis,availabl

fromsomersetciderbran

com(42%,£20for35cl).

• 1 litregood-quality
  Britishdrycider,ideal
  toofizzy,or1 litreclou
  Britishapplejuice


• 3 tbspsugar(1tbspif
  applejuice)


• 3 cinnamonsticks


• 5 cloves


• A goodgratingoffresh
  nutmeg


• A feworangeslices(o


• Smallknoboffreshgi
  peeledandcutintopie


• Slugofapplebrandy,o
  andonlyinalcoholicversion
  (seetip)

Heattheciderorjuiceina pan

untilhot,addthesugar,spices,

orangeslices,if using,and

ginger,thenstirfora few

minutes– don’tletit boil.Add

thebrandy,if using,thenstir

andpourintothicktumblersor

mugs(strainedif youlike).→

il

up

DS-ON

Old

Brandy

le

ndy.

llynot

udy

using

h

ptiona))))

nger,

eces

optional

i

Welcometothe

wonderfulworldof

wassailing!Oneevening

eachyearinmid-January

peopleinourvillagehead

outdoorstosingand

stompourfeet,bangon

potsandpansandshoutto

thenightsky.Oh,andour

VillageQueenandGreenManhangtoasted

breadinthebranchesofanappletreeasan

offering,thenwedanceroundit.Innon-

pandemictimes,thisancienttradition,which

datesbacktoAngloSaxontimes,givesusthe

perfectexcusetothrowa partyina quiet

month.Wecelebratethebeautifullocalapple

treeswitha spicyhotmulledcup(thewassail)

basedonciderorapplejuice,andsteaming

bowlsofhomemadesoup.

Thisyear,ofcourse,everythingisdifferent,

butmyfamilyandI aredeterminedtokeepthe

customgoingeventhoughit’sjustus– a fun

thingtofocusonwhenthere’snotmuch

opportunitytocelebrate.We’llstillwassail,

butwe’llbeinourowngarden,blessingour

elderly,still-productiveappletree.

Youmightliketodothesameand,depending

ontheruleswhenthetimecomes,perhaps

meetupwithoneortwoothersoutside.Ifyou

don’thavea suitabletreetobless,buyinsome

beautifulBritishapples,makea displayofthem

inthegardentodancearound(maybelight

a firetoo)andmakesureyouhaveplentyofhot

wassailcup(seeright)towrapcoldhands

around.Thecelebrationisaboutdrivingaway

thegloomandbringinga shotofmid-winter

cheer– anddon’tweallneeda bitofthat?

Thecelebrationis

aboutdrivingaway

thegloomand

bringinga shotof

mid-wintercheer

• anddon’tweall
  needa bitofthat?

WASSAILING:

THE GEEKY FACTS

• Thewordwassailcomesfroman gloSaxon
  greeting‘waeshaeil’,meaning‘be n goodhealth’.


• Thecelebrationis associatedwith welfthNight
  but,sinceit predatestheGregorianCalendar,
  sticklerscelebrateit on 17 ratherthan5 January.


• Spirit-shooingactivitiesincludebangingonpans,
  yellingandevenfiringshotgunsoverthetree.


• Hangingtoastinthetreeanddrinkingtoit is
  thoughttobetheoriginoftheword‘toast’as
  a salutarydrink.


• Otherstaplesofthewassailinclude
  pouringcideraroundthetreeand
  dancingaroundit,singingoneofmany
  traditionalwassailsongs.


• InSussex,thewassailwascommonly
  knownas‘applehowling’.

deliciousmagazine.co.uk 63

An

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make it special.

PHOTOGRAPHS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

: ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES