Punch - classic recipe
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Classic alcoholic punch is a cult dish for dark winter evenings and cheerful company.
Today I will have a punch according to the German version and with all the classic bells and whistles for this sacred rite. Without the bells and whistles, it’s certainly possible to cook the same thing, but it’s difficult.
In European countries, the culture of drinking punch and its recipe differs from country to country, but, perhaps, it was in Germany that it was elevated to the rank of a real cult! The largest punch in the country (and the whole world) is brewed in Munich, in front of the Isartor gate, in a cauldron 3.5 meters high and 2.5 meters in diameter, 9000 liters each!
At the institutes, hundreds and thousands of students gather before Christmas in the largest auditorium, watch the film "Fire Punch", and as the plot develops, they either shine flashlights, or light sparklers, or drink... um... whatever it's about. speech on screen.
Many Germans cannot imagine Advent and New Year without fire punch. Some families have punch making kits that have been used for generations.
I'll show you how to make a classic alcoholic punch, using a kettle from the sixties and seventies that belonged to my husband's family. If you have a choice whether to buy a kettle with electric heating or with a burner, then with regard to punch I will say unequivocally: an electric one is more convenient; with a burner with a real flame it is much more difficult to adjust the temperature. Punch should not be overheated above 70°C. Accordingly, it is advisable to have a liquid thermometer as an instrument. The German pot set often automatically comes with “sugar tongs,” which are actually not tongs, but a chute into which the sugar loaf is placed. The heads are sold in supermarkets. Just as sugar tongs are not tongs, sugar loaves are not shaped like heads at all, but cone-shaped hats.
The classic punch recipe involves using dry red wine as the main ingredient. It is seasoned with zest (orange and lemon), cinnamon, cloves, allspice, anise and even gingerbread liqueur. In addition to wine, sugar and spices, high-percentage rum is also needed. High-percentage is with a strength of at least 60%. 54%, for example, is too little - it soaks the sugar, but does not provide stable combustion. For 1 liter of wine they usually take about 100-150 ml of rum.
Ингредиенты
Sweet red wine - 1000 ml
Rum 80% - 150 ml
Orange - 1 pc.
Cinnamon - 2 pcs.
Anise - 3 pcs.
Рецепт
1. The very first thing you should start with when preparing a recipe for classic punch in a special punch bowl is safety instructions. The punch burner must be placed on a stone or other non-flammable base. No textiles around, no, God forbid, straw wickerwork or decorative spruce branches, even if they look simply charming. Then I'll show you why. Also make sure that there are no tulle curtains anywhere nearby, and that the punch pot is not under a chandelier or any overhanging garlands.
2. Point two, still a safety precaution: rum is poured only from a ladle and never from a bottle. Otherwise, you risk getting not a New Year's punch, but a Molotov cocktail. If the cook does not have an assistant, then what is needed is not matches, but an electric lighter. Because in one hand you will have a ladle with rum, which will need to be set on fire somehow. And to light matches you need 2 hands.
3. Well, and then... then, in principle, everything is elementary simple. The zest is cut into a spiral from an orange (or lemon, or both). No need to grind.
4. The zest and a set of other seasonings are placed in the wine. Only large pieces, no powders. On the burner, the wine and seasonings are brought to a temperature between 60 and 70°C. The temperature must be maintained within these limits throughout the preparation of the punch.
5. Place sugar tongs and a loaf of sugar on top of the pot of warmed punch.
6. And then the rum is poured into a ladle, set on fire and poured in a thin stream so as to evenly saturate the entire sugar loaf. Now imagine that you accidentally splashed some burning rum on the tablecloth... and on charming dry spruce branches... Can you imagine? Visual illustration? Even if there is no fire, everyone at the table will have time to freak out.
7. But I, of course, wish you successful punch making - and a happy New Year! When the sugar loaf burns out, your punch will be ready!