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Mulled Wine or Bishop

A warm beverage made by simmering water, spices, sugar, and port wine.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Mulled Wine or Bishop

Ingredients

Directions

Make the spiced syrup

  1. Boil the water with the mixed spices for a few minutes.

  2. Strain the liquid and add the loaf sugar.

  3. Simmer for 1-2 minutes and skim off any foam.

Finish and serve

  1. Add the port wine and heat until hot, but do not boil.

  2. Serve with rusks or toast.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Nutmeg + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,331 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Mixed spices
Give the wine its warm aroma and flavour as they steep in the hot liquid.
Loaf sugar
Adds sweetness that balances the tannins and spice of the port.
Port wine
Forms the base of the drink, supplying body, alcohol and fruity flavour.

The step that matters

Add the port wine and heat until hot, but do not boil. Boiling wine drives off alcohol and can make the flavour harsh and cooked, so heating gently keeps the port tasting fresh and rounded.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sugar, port wine):

  1. Cardamomfits better
  2. Gingerfits better
  3. Winter savoryfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sugar, port wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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