How To | Wassail Well

In our January issue we met some Wassailers and were inspired to give it a go ourselves. The idea behind Wassailing is to bless the trees for the coming year and see off evil spirits that may diminish its crop. But mostly it’s just to have a bit of bonkers British fun in dank January. Here’s how to Wassail well. 

For your Wassail, you will need:

A slice of toast (soaked in cider if you like)

Ribbons in Wassailish colours (green, white and red, generally, but do Wassail as you wish)

Some suitable music. If you happen to be friends with a folk band, that is excellent but a playlist on Spotify will do equally well

A saucepan and wooden spoon

Mulled cider or apple juice (recipes below)

A firepit if you have one

How to Wassail:

1. Get your Wassailing music on while you make your Wassailing mulled cider or apple juice. 

2. Once it’s simmering nicely, head outside with your ribbons and tie them to your intended tree. The point of a Wassail is to thank the trees and to ensure a good harvest for next year by seeing off evil spirits from them. 

3. Ban your saucepan with a wooden spoon around the tree to ‘wake up’ the tree and drive evil spirits away. 

4. Light a fire if you like (a candle in a jar will do) and get your warmed cider out. Pour everyone a cup, then pour one on the roots of the tree, and also soak a piece of toast in some of the cider and place it carefully in the tree’s branches. The idea is that birds will take pieces of the Wassailed toast, be well fed and then hang about in the tree, ridding it of insects during the coming year. 

5. Once warmed and cheered by cider, gather together around the fire (or candle) and sing your Wassail songs. 

A song for your Wassail

This ‘Somerset Wassail’ is fairly easy to get the hang of. If you need help with the tune, try listening to The Wassail Song by John Kirkpatrick on Spotify.

1. Wassail and wassail all over the town
The cup it is white and the ale it is brown
The cup it is made of the good ashen tree
And so is the malt of the best barley

Chorus: For its your wassail and its our wassail
And its joy be to you and a jolly wassail

2. Oh master and missus, are you all within?
Pray open the door and let us come in
O master and missus a-sitting by the fire
Pray think on us poor travelers, a traveling in the mire

Chorus

3. Oh where is the maid with the silver-headed pin
To open the door and let us come in
Oh master and missus, it is our desire
A good loaf and cheese and a toast by the fire

Chorus

4. There was an old man and he had an old cow
And how for to keep her he didn't know how
He built up a barn for to keep his cow warm
And a drop or two of cider will do us no harm

Chorus

5. The girt dog of Langport he burnt his long tail
And this is the night we go singing wassail
O master and missus now we must be gone
God bless all in this house until we do come again

Make Wassail Spiced Cider

A bottle of cider (or apple juice if going non-boozy)

Slices of fruit (eg apples and oranges)

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

Brown sugar to taste

a few cloves

A small grating of nutmeg

Pile all the ingredients into a large pan or slow cooker and gently mull, then keep warm until you need it.

In our January issue we met some Wassailers and were inspired to give it a go ourselves. The idea behind Wassailing around Twelfth Night* is to bless the trees for the coming year and see off evil spirits that may diminish its crop. But mostly it’s just to have a bit of bonkers British fun in dank January. Here’s how to Wassail well.

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More Wassail…

How to hold a Wassail

Singing to apple trees to encourage a bountiful harvest is making a comeback. Look out for a wassail in an orchard or allotment near you

For many of us, Twelfth Night signifies little more than the deadline for taking down the Christmas decorations. For others, however, it’s an occasion to pull on the wellies, head out into the cold and wake the fruit trees from their winter slumber through songs, offerings and some cider-fuelled revelry. In orchards and allotments across the country, the ancient tradition of wassailing is making an unexpected comeback.

Hold your own wassail

Traditionally, the wassail takes place on Twelfth Night – either 5, 6 or 17* January, but modern versions can take place at any point between these dates.

A back garden can work just as well as an orchard. 

Torches, wellies and warm coats are a must.

Involve the kids. Deck them out with face paint, feathers and foliage and they can lead the parade as the wassail King or Queen. 

Ensure there’s a generous supply of mulled cider as well as juice for little ones, and encourage participants to bring snacks, such as home-baked apple muffins, to share with the group. 

Drive out evil spirits by banging pots and pans together before serenading the tree with a wassail song.

* 17 January is Twelfth Night, or ‘Old Twelvey’, following the pre-Gregorian calendar.

More on Wassails in the January issue - turn to page 116.

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View the sampler here.

More from the January issue:

More seasonal inspiration:

Recipe: Smoked toffee apple bourbon

What’s the only thing better than a sticky toffee apple? This tipsy toffee apple brew, especially when sipped beside the fire

There are a few stages to this, but once made the syrups will last a few weeks in the fridge, so there’s no need to rush through it. The first step is to make a simple syrup, which you will then use to make a caramelised simple syrup that will give the bourbon a beautiful toffee taste.
 

Simple syrup

‘Cups’ are used here not in any exact way, but merely to show that we want the volume of sugar and water to be the same, and so you may as well pour each into the same cup to measure out.

2 cups water
2 cups granulated sugar

1 Heat water and sugar gently in a saucepan until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil and simmer until the liquid turns clear.

2 When completely cool, pour into a jar and store in the fridge.
 

Caramelised simple syrup

This caramelised syrup recipe is adapted from Homemade Liqueurs and Infused Spirits by Andrew Schloss (Storey Publishing).

1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups simple syrup

1 Heat the sugar in a small saucepan on a medium-high heat until it starts to turn brown at the edges. Stir with a wooden spoon. The sugar will turn lumpy. Keep on stirring for a few mins until it turns deep orange and completely liquid.

2 Stand back and carefully pour in the simple syrup. The mixture will bubble furiously and the sugar will turn solid. Keep heating and stirring and the lump of caramelised sugar will slowly dissolve into the syrup.

3 When cool, pour through a strainer into a jar and store in the fridge. Eat the pieces of caramel left behind in the strainer.
 

Bourbon

This infused bourbon combines the tastes and scents of the moment. Caramelised simple syrup is combined with grated apple and the whole given a note of smokiness with the addition of a teaspoon or so of Lapsang Souchong tea.

3 apples
360ml caramelised simple syrup
480ml bourbon
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tsp lapsang souchong

1 Grate the apples into a large, sterilised, sealable jar and pour in the syrup.

2 Muddle together and then add all the other ingredients and mix well. Leave to infuse for five days.

3 After five days, strain through a muslin into another sterilised, sealable jar. Leave to drip through the muslin for a few hours rather than squeezing it, for a clearer result.

4 You can drink immediately, or seal and store somewhere cool and dark for up to a year. 

Read more:

From the October issue

Seed to Stove recipes

Warming drinks

October's The Simple Things is on sale - buy, download or subscribe now.

Recipe: Wassail - Christmas spiced ale

Wassail, from Middle English wæs hæl, means ‘good health’. So, here’s a hearty festive drink to welcome in the season. 

If you don’t have a punchbowl and ladle, improvise with the largest vessel you can find and, if it’s less than elegant, simply wrap it in a white linen cloth or pretty tablecloth, decorate it with ivy and ribbons and serve the ale with a small jug. This is a dry drink that works well with Guinness or stout as well as ale.

Serves 8–12
Handful of sultanas
150ml marsala, sherry, brandy or rum
100ml ginger cordial or 125g caster sugar
Pinch of grated nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon
2 litres ale, porter, stout or other dark ale
Ice, optional
Punchbowl and cups or glasses

1 Put the sultanas in the punchbowl, add the measured marsala (or alternative), plus the cordial or sugar, and the spices. Leave to macerate.
2 When your guests arrive, add ice (if preferred) and the ale. Stir and serve in the cups.

Plenty more festive ideas for gifts, food and fun in December's issue of The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe now.

Recipes and images taken from Artisan Drinks by Lindy Wildsmith, photography by Kevin Summers (Jacqui Small, £25) 

Recipe: Buttered bourbon apple cider

Make two batches of our November cover recipe – one boozy, one kid- and driver-friendly – for a warming autumn treat.

Getting together with friends and family happens so easily in summer – good weather and that holiday feeling being the natural allies of socialising. Yet there’s plenty to celebrate come bonfire season: autumn’s fiery canopy, the crisp, cold air and fast-falling dusk lend themselves to gathering outdoors, wrapping up, wellies donned, and feasting around the fire. We’ll raise a glass of mulled cider to that.

Recipe: Buttered bourbon apple cider

Serves 6–8

500ml apple cider*
100ml apple juice
1 tbsp light brown sugar
Cinnamon sticks (one, plus some to use as stirrers)
Cloves
Star anise
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of ginger
Sliced fresh fruit (orange, apple)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
150ml bourbon

1. In a large pot add the cider, apple juice and sugar; heat until it starts to simmer.

2. Add all other ingredients except for the butter and bourbon.

3. Let the spiced cider simmer for 10 mins, then add the butter and bourbon, stirring gently until the butter has melted.

4. Remove from the heat, pour into glasses, add a cinnamon stick to each glass and serve. You can strain the mixture before pouring, if you don’t want ‘bits’.

* To make a children’s version, replace the bourbon and cider with apple juice (600ml in total).

Salted caramel toffee apples

Possibly the best Bonfire Night recipe ever. Salted caramel toffee apples. Sticky, sugary heaven for children – and a salt-laced caramel treat for grown-ups.

You can make them to eat there and then or they’ll keep in the fridge in cellophane for 2-3 days, ready for your weekend bonfire gathering.

Makes 10

10 apples (Granny Smiths work well)

Toffee apple sticks*

300g light brown sugar

3 tbsp maple syrup

6 tbsp golden syrup

220g butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 heaped tsp flaked salt

Note: Unlike traditional toffee apples, getting a caramel sauce to stick to the apples is a little more tricky. You need a sugar thermometer and to work really quickly when dipping the apples. It may require a little more effort but the result is worth it!

1. Wash apples, dry thoroughly, remove the stalks and replace with sticks. Place the apples in the fridge (washing and chilling helps the sauce to stick).
2. Line a baking tray with parchment. Into a large pan, add the sugar, maple syrup, golden syrup, butter and vanilla, and stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved – around 15 mins.
3. Add the thermometer, increase the heat, bringing the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring slowly but constantly until the temperature reaches 113 C/236 F (around 10 mins).
4. Carefully pour the caramel into a glass bowl, stir in the salt. Add the thermometer and allow the caramel to cool to 99C/210F (this should take around 10–15 mins).
5. Have your apples and baking tray ready and, working really quickly, submerge each apple into the caramel, twist, ensuring all but the top is covered and place on your baking tray.
6. Continue til all the apples are done. You can then go back and tidy up the bottom of each apple: either press into shape or scrape off excess caramel if you so wish.
7. If the temperature cools too much the caramel will slide straight off, so you may need to reheat and recool the remaining caramel to finish coating your fruit.
8. Allow the coated apples to set (2–3 hours) before placing in cellophane bags; store in the fridge.

* Toffee apple sticks are a seasonal supermarket buy, or surf for confectionery or lolly sticks; skewers work, too.

If you want more bonfire party inspired recipes, we’ve got pumpkin soup, vegetable skewers, chicken & chorizo jambalaya and buttered bourbon apple cider in the November issue. On sale in newsagents now or you can buy a print copy here and download the digital version here.