Christmas Calendar 2013 Day 20 - Pink glögg (mulled wine) with pomegranate juice

Today it is Friday and for many Danes it is the last working day, before the Christmas vacation start :-) And I hear many people say, that they really forward to some days off from work. Perhaps is it related to the fact, that the entire month of December has been one long gray month of darkness with very little sunshine during the short days of 7 hours of day light.

Well, I think we should celebrate the begin of Christmas vacation with making some glögg :-) I have taken "seriously" inspiration for this pink glögg (mulled wine) with pomegranate juice from a recipe collection coming together with the weekly magazine "Alf for Damerne" issue 46/2013. I really like the idea of making glögg on rose wine instead of either white wine (mulled white wine) or red wine. It is sort of the usual compromise, which my good friend and I am doing, when we are out eating. She likes red wine and I like white wine, so we always goes for rose wine as the compromise !!!

I was serving this glögg on  for a bounce of friends coming around for a Christmas get-together, and as the majority had to drive back by car, I decided to only to use wine as the alcohol provider (removing any addition of aquavita, cognac, sherry or port wine), so all the drivers could enjoy a glass of glögg without worrying about loosing their driving licence !!

The use of fresh pomegranate kernels is using a nice fresh flavour boost into the spiced rose wine.

UPDATE:
November 29 2014, this recipe was used for the blog challenge "Cooking with herbs" having focus on Sugar and spice.

Pink glögg with pomegranate juice: - 10-12 servings

• 100 ml pomegranate juice
• 200 ml water
• 4 star anise
• 2 fresh gingers - peeled
• 6 cardamon seeds
• 2 organic orange - only the zest
• 2 l rose wine
• 50 g dried cranberries
• 100 g sultana raisins
• 100 ml pomegranate juice
• 1 pomegranate - all the kernels
• sugar

1. Start by soaking the cranberries and raisins in pomegranate juice (100 ml) night over.
2. Heat up the other part of pomegranate juice (100 ml) with water, star anise, fresh ginger, cardamon seeds and orange zest in a large cooking pot.
3. Let it boil lightly for 10 minutes.
4. Remove this juice-spice liquid for the heat and let it infuse for 30 minutes.
5. Add the rose wine, soaked dried fruits with pomegranate juice as well as pomegranate kernels into the juice-spice liquid.
6. Heat up this glögg to below the boiling point. If it boil the alcohol will disappear.
7. Sweetened the glögg with sugar, before serving it hot.