They say, if you have a cold, drink mulled wine.

Mulled wine is a well-known remedy for colds. It is prepared in many ways, it is delicious and most importantly: hello!

Here, I will now tell you what its benefits are and how it is prepared!

If you are a wine lover, then you will simply adore it prepared this way. Hot drinks are something that is recommended when the season of viruses and colds starts. These can be various teas, and in our country, "they" are often brewed with a certain dose of alcohol.

While hot chocolate and cocoa are highly valued somewhere as a hot beverage, hot brandy (sometimes known as Šumadija tea) and mulled wine are valued in our country.

Believe it or not, this is not nonsense and mulled wine can really have its advantages.

This drink, they say, can improve the state of your memory. Of course only if you use it in moderation. In exaggeration, it will probably contribute to not remembering what you did the day before and suffering from a hangover.

Red wine contains resveratrol, a substance found in red grapes, dark chocolate and raspberries. This substance, according to some research, has the property of reducing the ability of harmful molecules to damage brain tissue, that is, to infiltrate inside it. In this way, mulled wine preserves memory, but we cannot say that it really improves it. Either way, it does no harm and is thought to prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Ok, you know this for sure and you know it's good to have a glass of red wine at lunch. This advantage of mulled wine is due to polyphenols that prevent platelets from sticking together and blood clots from forming, and maintain the elasticity and flexibility of blood vessels. Also, some types of red wine can reduce bad cholesterol, and thus affect high blood pressure, and here are great alternatives for a healthy heart in a glass of mulled wine!

Once a week, prepare well-cooked wine when the cold season starts and you are well on your way to preventing a runny nose, cough, and sore throat. This is a great drink for immunity, because it contains antioxidants that fight infections and free radicals.

How is mulled wine made?

The wine does not need to be boiled, but needs to be heated to a certain temperature. It is about 75 degrees because at that temperature the alcohol starts to evaporate. You can first heat only a little wine with spices because alcohol will "extract" aromas from the spices much more than when the dish is cooked, and then add the rest of the wine.

Ingredients needed:

Red wine 1 l

Water 250 ml

Crystal sugar 4 tbsp

Clove, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg or spice to taste

Orange, tangerine, apple, lemon or any other fruit you like

Preparation:

Melt three tablespoons of sugar over low heat. When it turns yellow, pour water over it, increase the temperature of the hob and let the water boil. Make sure that your hob is not too strong so that the sugar does not burn.

Then add another tablespoon of sugar, stir well to combine everything and add the wine. When the foam starts, remove the pot in which you cook it all from the stove, because your drink must not boil. Add spices, mix well and pour into a thicker glass, which has a handle.

Now we come to the part where you can change the taste of mulled wine with various spices. Our suggestions are cinnamon and cloves. They are standardly used for mulled wine. If you like to experiment with flavors and aromas, try pepper and nutmeg. Pepper enhances the taste and circulation and expels excess water, and the nut gives a special aroma. If you are a fan of milder flavors, you can add one bar of vanilla. You can also buy an already prepared mixture of spices for mulled wine, but our choice and recommendation would certainly be fresh spices and the possibility to dose them yourself and create new flavors.

You can also enrich the taste by adding fruit to it. Our recommendations are orange, pear, apple, lemon, tangerine. Wash the fruit well, cut it into strips and put it in the wine with the peel. If you don't want to put whole fruit, a grated orange or lemon peel will be enough for a little taste.

Serve the wine prepared in this way and taste it while it is still warm. Nothing is warmer on cold days than delicious mulled wine. And be careful not to overdo it, it's still about alcohol.

Cheers!