Food and Drink | Tips for Cooking with Wine

Actually, cooking with wine is far from fancy. There are more complicated cooking techniques out there. Cooking with wine is open to experimentation and individual expression. This article will open your eyes into one of the simplest but most effective cooking techniques. Cooking with wine intensifies the natural flavor of foods and will lend an essence to your food that is hard to explain.

How Much to Use

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to cooking with wine; however, it is better to start with a little and then add more if you feel the dish needs more. It is important to realize that the flavor of wine when it is used in cooking doesn?t come from the alcohol but from the true nature of the wine. In fact, very little alcohol is left in a finished dish, as most of it will evaporate.

This presents another thing that you have to be aware of. When you cook off the liquid in wine, the flavor intensifies. When wine is reduced, it gets concentrated and the flavor gets kicked up a notch. So, add it in near the end because you can end up overwhelming the dish when it?s done.

What Kinds of Wine Are Best for Cooking

Not just any wine will do. A wine that tastes good when drunk will taste good when cooked with. On the same note, an awful tasting wine will taste even worse when put in food. You don?t need to splurge and get a $100 bottle ? you?ll just end up not using it as much as you should. There are many good priced one out there. A $10 bottle could work fine. You just have to search a little harder.

A common red or white wine that you enjoy would be a good starting point. For marinades, sauting, chicken, and seafood ? applications not requiring intense flavor ? it?s hard to go wrong with a Sauvignon Blanc. Red meats or sauces with a red meat base have inherently deep flavor, so a more powerful wine is in order. A Chianti or Cabernet Sauvignon is perfect for the job.

Try to avoid wines that have a heavy flavor from oak. It tends to give the food a bitter taste. In addition, if you use a wine that is quite sour or very fruity, the flavors will be very prevalent in your dishes. This is one reason to avoid the very cheapest bottles of wine.

Tips for Cooking with Wine The more you cook with wine, the better you will get at determining how it will affect and flavor your dishes. Here are six good tips to help you get started:

If a recipe calls for water, put in wine instead. You can add a tablespoon or two to your gravy. Simmer until the alcohol fully evaporates. Your favorite flavored oil plus wine makes a good marinade for meat and poultry. Heat the wine before adding to meat dishes. Warm wine can tenderize meat while cold wine has the opposite effect. Don?t overdo it. Too much heat will cook your wine, robbing it of its taste. Heavier red meats need a dry red wine to flavor it or else it will seem that you put nothing in at all. Lighter meats, such as pork, poultry, and fish will be overpowered. It?s best to use white wine in this case. You can serve the same wine you cooked with along with a meal. If that is not possible, at least serve a matching variety. It is not very nice to serve a light white wine with a roast dinner flavoured with an intense red.

Closing Thoughts

Cooking with wine is a great way to add a new dimension to your favorite recipes. It only takes some experimentation to realize which wines are your favorites to cook with!

Michelle is a season publisher on the topic of home meals. The lady really relishes sharing her hints and tips about making slow cooker recipes or possibly crock pot chili.

Source: http://virtual-kitchen.cz.cc/?p=3725

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