SC - Suggestions & Review Requested.

[Philip & Susan Troy]

david friedman wrote:
> 
> On the subject of mulled cider ... . Has anyone found a period
> reference to it? It is one of the things that feels old, hence
> period, to us, and I wouldn't be astonished if it were period, but I
> don't know that it is.

Does anybody have an OED entry on the subject of "mulled"? The basic
process seems pretty similar to that used to make hypocras or clary
(with the exception of mulled stout or porter, which are entirely
different animals), which is probably a good part of why we seem to
think of it as a period thing. 

I haven't seen any references, to the best of my knowledge, to mulled
anything prior to the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries, even though
warmed, spiced, and sometimes sweetened wines abound in period (even if
cooled for drinking). So, I guess the question is, what exactly _is_
mulling? A definition may or may not actually answer the question. Why
is hypocras not mulled wine, while mulled beer (traditionally made with
a red-hot poker thrust into it) _is_ considered mulled? I wonder if
we're going to find that "mulled" is British West Country dialect for "hot".

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com