Why should I cook with wine?
The
great thing about wine is that it’s not just for drinking; adding wine to a
dish will not only enhance the flavour, but also the aroma of the meal.
This is
because heating the wine simply concentrates the flavour of it, which means it
will accentuate all the best parts of the meal. Remember, the wine needs to
blend and meld into the other ingredients, not be a noticeable and overpowering
ingredient. Wine can also be used instead of large quantities of oil to
reduce the calorie content of your meals, and with supermarkets like Tesco offering such a large selection of wines, you have no excuse
not to pick up a bottle with the weekly shop and get started today!
Match the wine to the dish
One of
the first issues that you might face when cooking with wine is how to select
the right wine for the dish. But before you panic and worry that your lack of
experience of cooking with wine is going to count against you, don't worry - you
can totally do this!
As a
general rule, fish and white meat, such as turkey or chicken, should be
accompanied by a dry white wine, such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.
Meanwhile red meat, such as beef, goes best with a full-bodied red wine, such
as a Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon or a Zinfandel.
When should I add wine to the pan?
While it
may be tempting to add the wine to the pan straight away (and then pour a generous
glass for yourself, too, obviously!) the trick is to wait.
Hold off
until the ingredients have been simmering for a while, but there is still a lot
of cooking time left, this way it will enhance the dish without being too
obtrusive.
Let the wine cook before adding another liquid
This is
probably the biggest mistake that a lot of people make, as it can be tempting
to add all the liquids that the recipe requires at once. Doing this will only
accentuate the taste of the wine, which will overpower the other ingredients.
Instead,
take the time to let the wine cook before adding your stock or other liquid to
avoid serving something that tastes like uncooked wine.
Can I bake with wine?
It’s not
just pan-fried food that tastes great with added wine, but baked goods too!
Wine can be added to all sorts of desserts, such as champagne cake, which
can be created by following a simple sponge recipe and (slowly) adding
champagne when the dry and wet ingredients are being beaten together.
Red wine
and chocolate cake also go very well together, just remember to add exactly the
amount of wine that the recipe calls for. The heat of the oven will burn off
the alcohol and leave you with a rich, moist and simply delightful cake that
will leave your guests wanting more.
Cooking
with wine is so much easier than you think, so why not have a look at a few
recipes online and see what you can create in your kitchen?
Image
by Montaplex used under the Creative Commons
license.
