Chemist cracks the secret of a ‘chemically perfect’ mulled wine… never let it get hotter than 79C
- PhD student Laura Powell from Hampshire created the recipe in a laboratory
- Her recipe includes red wine, lemon, oranges or clementines, sugar and vanilla
- She says only the fruit peel should be mixed in because they give flavour
There’s nothing better than a warming glass of mulled wine at this time of year.
And now the secret to making the ideal Christmas tipple from scratch has been revealed – never let it get hotter than 79C (174F).
PhD student Laura Powell, who specialises in electrochemistry at Southampton University, used laboratory equipment to create a recipe for a ‘chemically perfect’ mulled wine.
Chemist cracks the secret of a ‘chemically perfect’ mulled wine by never letting it get hotter than 79C (stock image)
She used a glass beaker, a magnetic stirrer bar and a thermometer probe to show 79C is the best temperature, claiming that at this point the spices’ flavours will be released and the alcohol will not start to burn off.
‘If you start with a small amount, disperse oils in the wine and then top it up at the end, you’ll get a beautiful mulled wine taste,’ she said.
Her recipe includes red wine, lemon, oranges or clementines, sugar, vanilla and a range of spices that she says should be ground or grated.
She says only the fruit peel should be mixed in because they give flavour and that pomegranate juice is a good non-alcoholic alternative.
The 25-year-old, from Farnborough, Hampshire, said the ‘perfect little finish’ is adding star anise which contains a chemical ’13 times sweeter than sugar’.