Gløgg: A Norwegian Christmas Tradition
Every holiday season, my mother made Gløgg, the warm Scandinavian drink that has been part of Norwegian Christmas traditions for generations. Fragrant with spices and made with red wine, port, and brandy, it was never simply a drink in our family. It was a signal that the holidays had arrived.
Now that my mother is gone, my brother and I have carried on the tradition, making Gløgg for our own families and friends. And because we both live in places where winter arrives with a chill, we don't wait until Christmas. Some years, the first pot appears around Thanksgiving, when the days are getting shorter, and there is something comforting about gathering around a warm drink.
The setting changes from year to year, but the scene always feels familiar: laughter around the room, a fire warming the house, a big piece of Stilton with cultured butter and good French bread, and steaming mugs of Gløgg in our hands.
As the spices simmer, the fragrance fills the room—cinnamon, cloves, citrus, wine. For me, it is almost an incense of memory, carrying me back to my mother and the holidays she loved so much.
There is something about family traditions that makes the past feel surprisingly close. A recipe written in a familiar hand. A piece of china brought out only once a year. The smell of something cooking, instantly taking you somewhere else.
We think about the people who are no longer at the table, but not always with sadness. More often, there is laughter. We remember the stories, the little quirks, the things they said and did that made them uniquely themselves. Food has a way of keeping those people present.
My mother certainly deserves a place at our table.
She was beautiful—she looked a little like Grace Kelly—but that elegant exterior concealed the goofy, mischievous Norwegian tomboy she had once been. That is how I like to remember her: beautiful and utterly herself, especially during the holidays, when she seemed happiest surrounded by family.
That may be what I love most about making Gløgg now. The recipe has stayed almost exactly the same, but the people around the table have changed. Children have grown up. Families have spread out. Some loved ones are no longer with us. Yet every time we make that familiar drink, we are reminded that traditions don't have to be elaborate to matter.
They simply have to be repeated.
This is what I have come to understand about family recipes. They are not just instructions for making something delicious. They are small vessels for memory, carrying pieces of the people who came before us into our own lives.
And so, when the Gløgg is simmering, and the house begins to smell of Christmas, I think of my mother. I think of my brother. I think of the tables we have shared and the ones still to come.
Then I pour another cup.
And raise it to family, to friendship, to the people we miss, and to the memories that somehow find their way back to us through food.
Skål
Norwegian Gløgg
Ingredients
- 1.5 liter bottle inexpensive dry red wine
- 1.5 liter bottle inexpensive American port
- 750 ml bottle inexpensive brandy
- 3-4 cinnamon sticks
- 15 cardamom seed pods or 1 teaspoon whole cardamom seeds
- 1 dozen whole cloves
- 1 peel from 1 orange that has been washed cut in long ribbons with a potato peeler
- 1/2 cup dark raisins dried sweet cherries or a mixture of both
- 1 cup blanched almonds
- 2 cups sugar
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in a large heavy bottomed pot. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 30 minutes or so.
- Cover the pot, cool and store in the fridge.
- If you are concerned about someone biting into a clove or choking on the cardamom pods, you can strain the Gløgg through some cheesecloth or a mesh strainer, but to date, we've never had an incident.
- Heat up to the Gløgg to the simmering point before serving.
- Garnish with fresh orange peel ribbons or orange wedges
- It is best to make Gløgg a day or two ahead of time so the ingredients have time to steep and meld into each other.
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Raising a glass to you and yours this holiday. Before consuming very much Gløgg cause I get a feeling one could get hammered from that stuff very easily. Guessing the Mason Jar Mugs are at least 16 oz.
Thank you so much, Lane! And a happy Thanksgiving to you and yours as well! Truth be told, I sip a little teacup of Gløgg before dinner and that is it. I’m not a big drinker but I do love this stuff, especially with some nice cheese! Are you cooking anything special this Thanksgiving?
Sous vide turkey breast with cranberry shallot sauce, the Roasted Brussels Sprout you had a few weeks ago, and some cornmeal cheese biscuits. Having dinner some friends here in town so I do not have to do much. Perhaps a Granny Smith apple pie.
Ooo la la, Lane! The cranberry shallot sauce sounds fantastic! Enjoy your friends and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Two year follow up question – what about using ground cloves and/or ground cardamom and if so suggested measures of each.
Hi Lane,
I wouldn’t recommend ground spices for this drink. You want the cardamom and cloves flavor but you need to be able to strain the spices out or the glogg will be murky and could be gritty too.
Happy holidays!
Eva
Happy Thanksgiving, Eva! Unfortunately, my dad did not share this wonderful concoction/recipe with us ( only Norwegian pancakes)!
I will be making this for our family this season and sending a toast out to you and all of our loved ones.
By the way, I made your Brussel sprout dish and I now find I crave it at least once a week!
Thank you for sharing your recipes and your warm, wonderful memories.
Lesli
Lesli-
Norwegian pancakes…yum! My brother makes them all the time for his kids.
My mother would make an even stronger version of Glogg by adding a splash of rum just before serving! I’m so glad you are enjoying some of my recipes.
Sending you lots of love and best wishes from your family in Colorado! xo Eva
Lovely tradition…I love traditions! May you have a wonderful Christmas.
(As I said before, your mother was lovely. We never stop missing them.It’s especially strong at the holidays.I wish you peace.)
Thank you, Tonette! I wish you love and peace in your life and the best of holidays. xo