Mulling spices bring aromatic flavor to drinks, desserts, and other dishes. These 30 ideas are starting points for exploring a food-grade spice blend, not complete tested recipes.
Choose the right preparation
Check your blend’s ingredients and intended use. Whole spices are suitable for infusing liquids, then removing with a fine-mesh strainer or food-safe spice bag. Do not leave hard spice pieces in finished food or drinks. For recipes that incorporate spices directly, use a finely ground culinary blend suited to the recipe.
Thirty ideas to try
Mulled red wine: Use a recipe that gently warms wine with culinary spices, then strains them out.
Mulled apple cider: Infuse cider with whole spices and strain before serving.
Mulled white wine: Explore a white-wine recipe with a lighter spice profile.
Spiced sangria: Use a strained spice-infused syrup in your preferred sangria recipe.
Spiced rosé: Try a small amount of strained spice syrup in a rosé-based drink.
Rum cocktail: Add strained spice syrup to a rum cocktail rather than heating the spirit directly.
Brandy cocktail: Use a spiced syrup as a flavoring in a brandy-based recipe.
Spiced grape juice: Warm grape juice with whole spices, then strain.
Tea: Infuse culinary spices separately and combine the strained liquid with tea brewed according to its directions.
Coffee: Add a little strained spice syrup to prepared coffee.
Hot chocolate: Infuse the milk with whole spices, strain, and use it in a cocoa recipe.
Non-alcoholic punch: Flavor a fruit punch with strained spice syrup.
Pancake topping: Serve a spice-infused syrup with pancakes or waffles.
Ice cream: Infuse and strain the dairy or other liquid before following your ice-cream recipe.
Poached pears: Use whole spices in the poaching liquid and remove them before serving.
Apple compote: Use a removable spice bag while cooking, then discard it.
Marinade: Try a recipe using cooled, strained spice-infused liquid. Follow the recipe’s refrigeration and cooking directions.
Brine: Use a tested brining recipe that includes aromatic spices and follow its handling instructions.
Gravy: Experiment with a small amount of strained spice-infused stock.
Refrigerator pickles: Choose a tested refrigerator-pickle recipe that already includes suitable spices. This is not a shelf-stable canning method.
Oatmeal: Prepare it with spice-infused milk after removing the whole spices.
Rice pudding: Infuse the recipe’s milk with whole spices and strain before proceeding.
French toast: Use cooled, strained spice-infused milk in your usual batter recipe.
Cookies or muffins: Choose a baking recipe that specifies finely ground culinary spices.
Roasted nuts: Use a recipe with a finely ground spice seasoning, not whole spice pieces.
Cocktail syrup: Prepare a strained spice-infused simple syrup using a recipe with storage guidance.
Vinaigrette: Add a little strained spice syrup to a dressing and balance the sweetness to taste.
Popcorn: Use a finely ground culinary seasoning rather than a whole mulling blend.
Fruit sauce: Cook fruit with a removable spice bag and take it out before serving.
Spiced citrus drink: Combine a cooled, strained spice infusion with citrus juice and water for a non-alcoholic drink.
Explore tea pairings
Browse Beach House Teas for tea to pair with your spiced drinks and desserts. Check each product’s ingredients and brewing guidance.
Start with small batches and follow complete recipes for quantities, cooking, and storage. Alcoholic suggestions are intended only for adults of legal drinking age; enjoy responsibly.
