Woodruff punch – simply delicious
For a long time, the woodruff had a relatively bad reputation. It’s the coumarin. At high doses, this compound can cause drowsiness and headaches. As a rule of thumb, a mixture of ten whisks of woodruff to one liter of liquid is now recommended to prevent unwanted side effects.
If you do get a headache after the punch, it may not necessarily be because of the woodruff, but because it is so delicious and you have enjoyed one glass too much.
Where can I get woodruff?
Really finding woodruff in the forest is not that easy. What grows along the way is usually the similar-looking bedstraw. It is therefore easier to buy a pot from a herb shop or garden center and plant it out.
Woodruff can easily be grown in the garden in a shady or semi-shady position. If he likes the location, then he multiplies quite happily. So you can already enjoy the first punch in the second year after planting. By the way: fresh woodruff hardly smells at all. It only develops its typical smell when it is wilted, i.e. when it begins to wilt slightly after picking.
Recipe for woodruff punch
For the punch you need a liter of well chilled wine. There you hang a slightly withered bouquet of woodruff, which you tied together with the stems, upside down. The styles should not be immersed if possible. Everything stays in the cold for at least 10 minutes. The longer you leave the woodruff in the wine, the more intense the taste. The only thing that helps here is trying out to find the right personal nuance.
The woodruff is then taken out again. Meanwhile, dissolve two tablespoons of sugar in some hot water and add this to the wine after it has cooled. Finally, a bottle of cold, dry sparkling wine is added. And the woodruff punch is ready. Please don’t be disappointed when you see them. She’s not green!. The coloring in the purchased punch is caused by food coloring. Our punch has retained the color of the white wine.