Glogg Definition and origin
Glogg or Gløgg as it is spelled in Danish and Norwegian is a hot Christmas beverage that is consumed in the Nordic countries. Gløgg is a Christmas tradition in Scandinavia and goes all the way back to the Romans. The Roman version should reportedly contain honey, light wine, spices, pine nuts, and yes – glowing coal! Today, we drink quite a different version of Gløgg that luckily doesn’t contain glowing coal. Today, you will find a lot of spices (cinnamon sticks, ground ginger, star anise, peppercorns, and more), oranges, red wine, and brown sugar as the main ingredients in a Danish Gløgg.
Gløgg came to Germany around the year 1400, where it was known as “Glühwein” that’s still is being drunk today. Later, the Christmas drink was spread to the Nordic countries that changed it a bit to a Scandinavian version called Gløgg (Danish and Norwegian) or Glögg (Swedish). Even in Scandinavian countries, the recipes are not completely the same.
How to Pronounce Gløgg
Since I am Danish, I was thinking of recording myself pronouncing “Gløgg” so you guys could have an idea of how it’s pronounced. Instead, I found this website where a Danish woman pronounced Gløgg for us. Let me know what you think about this Danish Gløgg recipe in the comments below.
Merry Christmas!
Danish Gløgg (Glogg) Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup (236 ml) water
- 2 oranges, sliced
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar
- 1 bottle red wine
Spices
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 star anise
- 10 cloves
- 10 cardamom pods
- 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Serving
- 6 tablespoons blanched almonds (1 tablespoon per glass), chopped
- 3 tablespoons raisins (1/2 tablespoon per glass)
Instructions
- Wash the oranges and slice them.
- In a large pot, add water, orange slices, spices, and brown sugar.
- Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes with a lid on. Remove from heat and let the mixture process for about 2 hours.
- Discard all spices and orange slices and add the bottle of red wine. Optional: You can save the cinnamon sticks and orange slices as decoration when serving the gløgg in the glasses.
- Heat up the gløgg to 170 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celcius), so the alcohol doesn't evaporate.
- Add 1 tablespoon of chopped blanched almonds and 1/2 tablespoon raisins to each glass and pour in the gløgg. Serve immediately.
5 Comments
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Thank you for sharing this delicious Glogg recipe. Me and my family loved it!
I tried it in Sweden and loved it! So I wanted to make my own.. This recipe was even better than the one I had! Thanks a lot!
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