Recipe: Elegant Mulled Grape Juice Deluxe

Elegant Mulled Grape Juice Deluxe

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• measure :

  to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).

• pour :

  to cause liquid, granules, or powder to stream from one container into another.

• simmer :

  to cook a food gently, usually in a liquid, until softened.

History of Mulled Drinks!

• Mulled drinks are made with wine or fruit juice simmered with spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and star anise. They may also be sweetened.
• These spiced beverages originated with mulled wine in Ancient Rome as early as the 2nd century BCE when it was mentioned in a comedic play by the Roman playwright Plautus. 
• In 1390, the Forme of Cury, a medieval English cookery book, had a recipe for mulled wine. It was initially used as a warming and medicinal drink. 
• Today, mulled drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions, are popular during winter and at Christmas. You can mull (heat and spice) apple juice or cider, cranberry juice, grape juice, or orange juice.

Let's Learn About Ancient Rome!

• Ancient Rome was a civilization established in 753 BCE with the founding of Rome, now the capital city of Italy. 
• In ancient Roman mythology, two twin brothers named Romulus and Remus founded Rome. The myth says the twins were abandoned and discovered by a she-wolf before being found and raised by a shepherd and his wife. Eventually (after many exciting adventures), they found themselves at Palatine Hill, where Romulus built "Roma." The Italian wolf became Italy's unofficial national animal.
• The original settlement of Rome was located on the eastern banks of the River Tiber in the central-western part of the Italian peninsula. The Roman Empire spread from there, taking over the whole peninsula and, eventually, the regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea, much of  Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa.
• The population of ancient Rome is estimated to have been between half a million to a million people. Their native tongue was Latin, a classical Italic language.  
• The Ancient Roman kingdom was governed for almost 250 years by elected kings from each of the Roman tribes. Then, the kingdom was overthrown, becoming a republic with a written constitution lasting almost 500 years. The government consisted of elected magistrates, the senate, and assemblies. 
• Julius Caesar declared himself dictator of Rome in 49 BCE. The republic became the Roman Empire in 27 BCE when Caesar's nephew, Octavian, became the first emperor of Rome, known as Caesar Augustus. The fall of the Roman Empire took place in 476 CE.
• Ancient Rome relied primarily on farming and trade, especially grains, grapes, and olives. Mining and stone quarrying (extracting) were also industries of the era. People taken from the foreign lands Rome conquered were enslaved, and the economy became dependent on them.
• Engineering advances from Ancient Rome included amphitheaters, aqueducts (waterways), arenas, bridges, roads, and public baths. You can visit some of these engineering feats today. The Appian Way, a Roman road, was constructed in 312 BCE. The Pantheon in Rome, an ancient Roman temple, was built from 29 to 19 BCE. The Roman Baths in Bath, England, were built around 70 CE. The Colosseum in Rome, built from 72 to 80 CE, is an example of an amphitheater where gladiator fights, chariot racing, and animal hunts took place. One of the aqueducts built in the first century, the Pont du Gard, still stands in southern France.
• Music and art were influenced by Greek culture. Ancient Roman art includes paintings such as frescoes on walls and ceilings, some of which have survived to modern times. Sculptures of people and sculpted landscapes and people in relief (carved to stand out from a surface) were also popular. The Ancient Romans were also known for their literature and public libraries.
• The cuisine of Ancient Rome included figs, pears, olives, garlic, onion, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, cucumber, parsnips, and peas. Proteins included cheese, chickpeas, eggs, lentils, and fish. Foods were seasoned with coriander, dill, and olive oil and sweetened with honey. 

What Was It Like to Be a Kid in Ancient Rome?

• Education in Ancient Rome was focused on boys, who were taught to read and write by their parents or educated enslaved people. They were trained in civic life, traditions, agriculture, politics, and warfare. Wealthy parents may have sent their children, boys and girls, ages 7 to 11, to a private elementary school, a "ludus," to learn reading, writing, arithmetic, and poetry. 
• At age 12, students would be sent to a secondary school to learn Greek and Roman literature, and at age 16, some would go on to learn rhetoric, the art of persuasion. These students would also learn Roman laws to work in legal professions.
• Kids would play ball games, board games, and dice games. Boys would participate in sports that would help them prepare for military service, like boxing, running, and wrestling.
• Ancient Roman children would have enjoyed fresh and dried fruit, nuts, and olives for snacks. They may have eaten puddings and sweet cheese, fruit, or nut cakes for sweet treats.