Cidre Chaud

Not a recipe so much as a set of suggestions (including that you do not, as one iteration I encountered suggested, without a hint of shame, include St Germain elderflower liqueur in your mulled cider. We draw a veil). The last time I made this particular recipe was on the 2nd January 2019, on a kettle barbeque on the beach at Glatigny, sharing the grill with Toulouse sausages spluttering next to the pan and the rest of our party playing increasingly avant garde matches of pitanque. In lieu of this serving suggestion, I recommend heavy mugs and a cold evening, wood smoke and fading light.

Serves 4 (depending on the size of your mugs and how festive you intend to become)

Ingredients:

• Cider (My experience is that you can mull any cider you happen to put your hand on. However, the farmyard qualities of Norman cider are particularly, if unexpectedly, suited to the kind of gussying up that mulling involves. 1 litre will probably do you).

• Brandy (This is really here for emphasis. I often use ginger wine in its place. I have on one occasion used Kirsch, with mixed results. Something with a higher alcohol content that smells of winter is what you are after. Whiskey also works well, but bourbon rather than anything peaty or smoky, not least because putting the latter in cidre chaud would be a criminal waste. One shot per person is a good place to start)

• Demerara Sugar (A tablespoon, for balance. This should be, at heart, a comforting drink)

• An Apple (Cored and sliced will do the job in a rush. Rings of apple with the cores stamped out I find charming. Perhaps a little kitsch for you, that is your business)

• A Tangerine (Sliced into rounds. You may put segments in your mull, that is your prerogative. The effect is too much that of a tinned fruit cocktail for me)

• Cinnamon Sticks (Two is ample. We are not stocking John Lewis during Advent)

• Cloves (Five always seems a good number but I cannot give you any justification for this on culinary grounds)

• Cardamom pods (Five, lightly crushed)

• Star Anise (Two will be ample)

Method:

1)      Combine your ingredients in a generous pan over a gentle heat until it almost simmers. You want barely a shudder on the surface here – do not boil. Steam rising lazily from the pot is a good indicator things are as they should be. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

2)      Strain (unless you enjoy spitting cloves surreptitiously from the corners of your mouth) and serve with the steeped fruit.