In the Myers-Briggs world, I’m an INFP. This means I’m crazy, but in a mostly self-contained way. It also means I think for a long, long, long time about really deep things that probably have no applicable meaning in the real world.
Like whether or not a blade of grass knows its dying after the first frost. Or why polar bears, so adorable and vicious and uncaring, were chosen to represent Coca-Cola and if it’s just a tongue-in-cheek nod to the evils of modern foods. Or how, when I bite my hangnails, it can be considered self-cannibalism. Cool things like that.
Anyway, I consider a lot of it true mulling. It’s partially why I love mulling spices.
And why not? To “mull” means: To think about a fact, proposal, or request deeply or at length. And this is what happens when you use mulling spices … especially in context with wine.
In the pot goes a cornucopia of complex spices, and the wine considers the spices, steeps in their fragrant thoughts, for a long, long time. And afterward, it comes to a decision. To be the most glorious synthesis of spirits and aromas and flavors that it can possibly be.
So mull this idea over: Mix up your own mulling spices this holiday season and bring a bottle of cheap red wine to life, or create your own homemade mulled cider (it’s SO easy), or even just create a spicy potpourri. Whichever you choose, your house is going to smell like Christmas, and your guests are going to love your face.
Mulling Spices: For Mulled Wine
We’re mostly going to concentrate on mulled wine in this post, because it’s the most romantic and it also happens to be what I have the most pictures of.
But if you’re not a heavy drinker, don’t fret. I have fantastic jolly news for you! Mulled wine is HEALTHY!
The reservatrol in the wine mixed with the huge amounts of healthful properties in all the spices gives you a holiday drink you can actually feel amazing about drinking. Antioxidants and vitamins galore.
But wait! There’s more! I actually concocted my very own recipe of (untraditional) mulled wine this weekend. I didn’t expect it to work, which is why the guy at the liquor store sold me three bottles of wine instead of one. I was so ready to have to throw an entire batch out. But this worked perfectly.
My secret recipe involves: Cacao nibs (or sometimes called cocoa nibs). I was floored that I couldn’t find a single recipe on the internets using cacao with red wine. What goes better with red wine than chocolate (and some Kenny G)? FYI, you cannot use dark chocolate or cocoa powder for this, or you’ll end up with a very icky, sticky wine.
Here are some pointers for perfect mulled wine:
- Inexpensive wine is just fine, when you’re mulling. In fact, I find lighter “table red” wine the best, because the spices and other flavors really shine through.
- Do NOT boil the wine. Ever. Or you’ll lose all the alcohol content.
- Let the wine mull on very low heat for about an hour. Not only does it need to mull this long to infuse the flavors, but your house will smell like heaven the whole time.
- However! Don’t let it mull for much more than an hour (and definitely not on higher heat than very low) or your spices might start to turn bitter.
So let’s start with the secret recipe first. It is glorious.
Chocolate-Cinnamon Mulled Wine
- 1 750 ml bottle of red wine
- 3 Tbsp cacao nibs
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 2 Tbsp dried orange peel (or the chopped up peel from one fresh orange)
- 1/2 tsp allspice berries
- Honey, to taste
In a pot over very low heat, pour the red wine. Add the other ingredients and stir well. Stir every 5-10 minutes. After 45 minutes to an hour, strain the spices/cacao nibs from the wine. In a mug or heat-proof glass, add 1/2 to 1 tsp honey and stir in wine. Serve with a cinnamon stick, for extra fanciness.
The chocolate taste is muted, but it’s there. Just a hint of rich, dark mocha to drive your tongue wild.
But, if you want to go the more traditional route, here’s the second recipe I made. The thing about mulled wine is this: You can kind of just … throw whatever you’re in the mood for in there. Unless you’re in the mood for chicken wings. Please. No.
Traditional Mulled Wine
- 1 750 ml bottle of red wine (or white wine or mead, even)
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 1 Tbsp cardamom pods
- 4 quarter-sized coins of fresh ginger (or dried ginger)
- 1 tsp allspice berries
- 1/2 tsp whole cloves
- 1 Tbsp dried orange peel (or the chopped up peel from a fresh orange)
- 3 or 4 star anise (optional)
- Honey, to taste
In a pot over very low heat, pour the red wine. Add the other ingredients and stir well. Stir every 5-10 minutes. After 45 minutes to an hour, strain the spices from the wine. In a mug or heat-proof glass, add 1/2 to 1 tsp honey and stir in wine. Drink while it’s warm!
Gaze at the deep, dark wine and tell me what you see in your future (could it be … party time?):
Guess What Else? PUT IT ON YOUR FACE!
Mulled wine would actually make a wonderful quick facial mask. The wine softens, the spices invigorate and clarify, and if you’re using the recipe with cacao, your skin will LOVE you for this.
In fact, before you start serving, pour a tiny amount into a small container and save it for after the guests leave. What a great way to wind down, yeah?
All you have to do to take advantage of this is “paint” the wine onto your clean face. Leave it on for 15 minutes and then rinse your face well.
Ho-ho-ho! There you go, you gorgeous thing.
Other Uses for Mulling Spices
A few years ago, I bought a bag full of premade mulling spices, and over the last few months they’ve actually become my go-to potpourri. Here’s what they look like, on my side table, all the time:
Every two or three weeks, I just add in a few drops of cinnamon and nutmeg essential oils and stir. They’re pretty, understated, and smell soooooo homey. (S’up?)
You could also create a blend of mulling spices to give away as a gift. Here’s an adorable idea from Martha Stewart to create individual mulling sachets (with, of course, a printable gift label … thank you, Martha).
But, of course, probably the most widely known way to use mulling spices is to make mulled cider.
And do you know how easy that is? HOMEMADE MULLED CIDER? Um … easier than wrapping gifts. WAY easier. Check out some really great instructions for simple apple cider here at Chaos in the Kitchen. And after you make the apple cider, all you have to do is mull it with more spices for another 20-30 minutes.
Here’s an all-inclusive list (from which you can choose) of spices to use when you’re making mulled wine or cider:
- Cinnamon sticks
- Whole cloves
- Small chunks of broken nutmeg (don’t use ground, or you’ll end up with gritty drinks)
- Citrus rinds (dried or fresh)
- Star anise
- Ginger (fresh or dried or crystallized)
- Allspice berries
- Black peppercorns
- Star anise
- Cardamom pods
Do You Have a Favorite Holiday Drink?
Be it alcoholic or nonalcoholic, do you and/or your family have a favorite special go-to drink that you indulge in over the holidays?
Let us know what it is, so we can try it out too!
(That is, after we mull it over.)
Also? If you want to take an abbreviated sort of Myers-Briggs test to see what personality type you are, here’s a quick little indicator (it’s not the formal test, but it produced the same results as the formal test did for me). If you do this, share your results! I’m SO curious to see what Crunchy Betty personalities are.
Greenwoman Magazine: 50 Free Copies for You Crunchy Betties
ISFJ – that has changed as I’ve gotten older. The first time I took the “actual” test in a work based setting, I was VERY much Extroverted. But as I’ve gotten older, I don’t place my self in as many “public” situations and prefer to keep more to myself and my family and close circle of friends. But I don’t think it’s a bad thing. The FJ part hasn’t changed at all. I am very sympathetic and empathetic to people and wear my heart on my sleeves. And I’m okay with that.
I totally enjoy your blog Betty and will keep on reading and sharing!!!
I’m an INFP, too! 🙂 I can’t wait to try these recipes… I’ve never mulled wine before! Sounds so yummy~ and a great way to make a cheapo bottle of bitter wine delicious! I love your pics, by the way… so pretty!
Being in Australia (it’s really hot in summer), sangria is definitely my favourite Christmas beverage…
I made your traditional mulled wine for my hubby and I to enjoy with our yummy Christmas meal, and it was a HUGE hit! We loved it. Thank you for this delish recipe, and everything else you do!
First of all, I LOVE the INFP action around here. (me too.)
I do eggnog lattes this time of year like crazy, and we like to make a crockpot holiday wassail that’s like 5 parts mulled cider, 2 parts port, 1 part brandy. Yummers. (In fact, I think I’m going to go have a little now…)
Merry Christmas to All!
Any ideas on what to do with leftover mulled wine? I found a few suggestions online for a reduction sauce & sorbet…any more advice?
My favorite holiday adult beverage:
1 Gallon of Apple Cider
1 bottle of Captain Morgan
1 orange, sliced thin
3-4 cinnamon sticks
Honey, to taste
Combine all ingredients in a big pot and let simmer on LOW for a half hour. Your home will smell amazing and the cider is delicious!
infp power! i feel like it explains a lot about me…also, did you know that infp’s are only a tiny fraction of the population?
infp 🙂 i love mulled wine! my friend sent me mulling spices from strausburg, france last year and i really do love it. makes me feel french, too 😛 what a GREAT gift idea.
The chocolate-cinnamon mulled wine was a success last night! Thanks for the recipe. I added a vanilla bean. Nummy!
What an amusing post! Love it and congratulations on inventing your own mulled wine recipe! Mulled wine is the best thing in December!!! 😀
ENFJ 🙂
ENFP
We are lively and charismatic. We LOVE change and possibility, and are always excited about or looking for new things. We like the “start-up phase of a project or relationship” and get tired of things that require a lot of follow-up or attention to detail (which is why I will probably never marry, ahaha). We really like to help and encourage people – hell, we really like people in general and tend to think overly highly of them.
Basically, ENFP’s are like puppies. I am like a puppy. Just not quite as cute.
With all that said, this mulling thing sounds PHENOMENAL and I need to find me a bottle of wine and some cacao, stat.
i’m an enfp too! i think crazy that is not so self-contained is another good way to put it. 🙂
also, i’m not surprised that my man is an istj. 😛
Thanks for another great post! I’ve made many things from your site, the next being lotion bars!! And now mulled wine! I took the personality test and came up with INFJ. Probably means I’m crazy. : ) Thanks for all you do! I’m so glad to find other people share my love of home made things (especially when they’re so much better for us!! )
Great blog, lovin it! I’m an INFP too, sweet 🙂
I’m going to try this mulled wine for my book club, can’t wait..I actually have cocao nibs in the cupboard, what a fantastic idea! I need to find some cinnamon sticks in my small town, will it totally fail with powdered cinnamon if i cant find any?
This has nothing to do with the topic of your post but I’m an INFP too!!! And this excites me because I feel severely unrepresented in this world! It’s great to know an INFP can run a successful blog, as I have just started my own and hope it will go somewhere 🙂 Thanks for being an inspiration Betty!
Ah. I wish I could say it came naturally – being an INFP and doing this. But it’s tough, I won’t lie. I agonize over everything I say, and whether or not it’s “true” according to my moral compass and what the repercussions might be if I’m “off” in what I say, think, or feel. Everything has, like, a bazillion sides to it, and us INFPs can see them ALL. It makes it even more difficult when someone disagrees with you, because you feel both hurt and completely empathetic to their side at the same time.
But the rewards – that of touching other people’s lives and knowing you’re making some slight difference somewhere? TOTALLY worth all of the agonizing mulling. Totally worth it.
You’ll rock your blog, I have faith. Big love!
WOW, so glad I scrolled down to read some of the other comments… I feel like this too! I have a blog as well, and struggle ALL the time with how I word things, and whether or not I expressed myself properly, and if I’m really conveying what I truly want to convey. It’s so nerve-wracking!
I sometimes find myself taking (much too long) breaks in between posts, because I doubt my abilities to express myself properly that day, or wonder what the repercussions might be from that blog post. But, on the other hand, I don’t feel genuine if I purposefully skip a post for those reasons.
I’m hoping to keep working on my blog, improving it, and find better ways to verbally express myself and just be satisfied with whatever comes out. It’s so funny… I call myself a writer, but find it so incredibly hard to write sometimes!
Anyway, I love your blog, and you have helped me gain some insight into myself with this INFP talk. 🙂 Thanks!
INFJ too.(as well as MLK and Jesus, so they say) And we are supposed to be the most rare type! I’ve read that all types become friends easily with all other types, except the 4 with “NF” in the middle. We only hang out with other “NF’s”.
Oh, and I’ve been mulling wine for years. A favorite winter tradition.
Another INFJ! Love the tip on cacao nibs!
INFJ!
I love mulled cider, although I’m usually lazy and just warm up cider with cinnamon sticks. 🙂
I am INTJ…I’m always interested in the fact that these tests are so accurate! 🙂
Love the way that “mull” was used in this blog. Very clever! I’m an INFJ. Sangria is something we enjoy tasting at Christmas. Since having the homemade real deal in Barcelona, Spain, the drink brings back wonderful memories.
Hi – I met you last month at the community cupboard swap. I’m the one whose husband built the greenhouse. I’m an INFP too! It’s the least common MB type. We always do spiced cider, but I usually buy the mulling mix. I might try to make my own this year, and will definitely try mulled wine. My favorite holiday drink though is amaretto slush (tea, amaretto, sugar, orange juice, and lemonade frozen together and then mixed with ginger ale). It’s always a huge hit at parties. The recipe is here: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/635/Amaretto-Slush78139.shtml
Fellow INFP here! Also whoa this sounds amazing, and hey, any excuse for wine! (just kidding! Kind of… :p)
I love ginger tea, no honey. it’s really nice that you can rebrew the ginger up to three times in new water before you start getting funky flavors.
works wonders on head aches as it is an NSAID pain reliever.
This post is really cool. I have a bunch of those spices but I drank all the cheap red wine last night! :/ oopsy lol I will definitely pick some up and try this out.
Oh and I have an ENfJ personality! I am to sensitive and always trying to fix other people’s problems rather than fix my own. I think that is pretty spot on.
When I took the full test back in college (early 90s), I was an ESFJ. Several were very close, especially the S/N second letter position. When I just took the above test, I was an ENFJ. I am not surprised since I have been very actively exploring my intuitiveness over the last decade.
Meanwhile, mulling spices have always created allergic reactions for me and now I know why. Those traditional spices are all triggers!!!! Your first recipe sounds more doable and delicious….mmmmmm….
Oh awesome! We just bought a bag of cacao beans at the store on impulse and now I have something awesome to do with them!
This whole post just looks delicious, especially with the cider recipe. Alas, my mother is allergic to cinnamon like some people are allergic to peanuts, so I’ll have to wait a month to try them! (I may try it without the cinnamon, but I love cinnamon!)
In our teetotal family, the special holiday drink is custard, which is basically eggnog without the whiskey, although it tastes a lot better than store-bought eggnog I’ve tried. It involves a lot of milk and eggs and patient stirring in a double boiler; my sister makes it, my granny tells us how Grandma Cannon put it in the snowbank to keep it fresh, and we drink it for desert.
Also, I’m drinking some yerba mate with right now, in preparation for the presentation and final that I have this morning. I hadn’t heard of it before, but you may have me hooked!
Just took the test: ISTJ. 🙂
In Denmark mulled wine is standard fare in the winter and particularly popular as a Christmas drink. We call it gløgg (pronounce: glerg – but don’t quite finish the R sound).
Another great use for red wine: staining a wood floor after someone spilled red wine on your untreated wooden floor and you can’t get the stain out. Merry ho ho ho and happy mulling!
Aww, I’m an INFP, too! Yay! I took the test a few years back. It’s kind of eerie how accurate it is.
My thing I’m mulling over lately is just how my family is going to react to my homemade gifts a la CrunchyBetty this year. ; )
Courtney, I share your thoughts. I made all of my gifts. I’m giving from my heart and that works for me. Everyone has their opinion, but it takes each individual to change all of this commercialism that grieves me. If I get any gripes, I’m ready for them. The griper can do this with my gift: re-gift, give it to their pet, or donate it to charity. Two children I’m giving gift cards to also. When they question me about that . . . I know they will, my reply is that my husband worked really hard to have the money to purchase the gift cards. Here’s hoping that you will experience only positive reactions. If not, remain positive because you have demonstrated what a beautiful and kind soul you are.