Sweden
Glögg
Hot spiced wine with cardamom and orange, served with raisins and almonds
55 min·6 servings
bitter orange peel
Dried peel of the bitter or Seville orange, usually ground or in small pieces. Bitter and intensely fragrant, a classic spice in Scandinavian Christmas baking and glögg.
Bitter orange peel is the dried rind of the bitter or Seville orange, a citrus fruit too sour to eat raw. It smells stronger and more floral than ordinary orange peel and carries a distinct bitterness, which in spice cakes, gingerbread, glögg and herbal spirits anchors the sweet and spiced ingredients. Ground peel is stirred straight into doughs; pieces are steeped in liquid or finely ground first, since they stay hard. In Scandinavia it is sold ground in every supermarket; elsewhere look in pharmacies, health food shops, spice shops or online. In winter fresh Seville oranges sometimes appear, and their zest can be grated or dried at home.
Substitute:
Freshly grated Seville orange zest comes closest but is only available in winter. Otherwise use finely grated zest of an ordinary orange with a little grapefruit zest to suggest the bitterness; the result is sweeter and fruitier, and the bitter, floral note is missing. Candied peel is no substitute, as it is sugared and barely bitter.
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