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Sun 14 Nov, 2004 08:53 am
I have an assortment of recipes which call for white or red cooking wine and have made them from time to time, such as a french onion soup. I've always thought it rather exotic.
I'm noticing more beer-ingredient recipes too. Yesterday I tried a rump roast in a slow cooker with a beef au jus base to which a can of beer was added. The smell while cooking I must admit was unpleasant. It probably didn't help that I drank a few beers in the afternoon. But by the time dinner rolled around, the taste of the cooked alcohol residue in the meat was very off-putting. My wife also commented on the smell and taste.
What is the purpose of alcohol in recipes? Is it a taste you enjoy in your food?
Alcohol is an additive like spices - strictly to
enhance the taste, nothing else. Now having said that,
I would never use beer for cooking unless it is
a batter for fish & chips.
I'll add red wine in a chicken or redwine dish or
cognac for a pork chop sauce, as long as no kids eat
along. And as always don't use cheap ingredients -
that goes for the wine/cognac/whiskey as well.
CalamityJane wrote:I would never use beer for cooking unless it is
a batter for fish & chips.
Hi Calamity Jane,
Why? Is it because of a higher heat? I'm guessing you fry the fish and chips.
regards
When preparing a sweet fruit flan a little absinthe will help enhance the flavour. That's coz ABSINTHE MAKES THE TART GROW STRONGER!!
Tycoon,
yes I fry them, but I just find the combination - batter & beer complements each other. Certain foods taste better
with different kind of alcohol, others don't.
I wouln't put beer in a sauce for turkey or duck - it just
doesn't taste well.
Mr. Stillwater
I don't know Absinthe - what does it taste like?
Is it a sweet liqueur?
Absinthe has recently been in fashion again, after a long period of being... absent.
http://www.artprints-on-demand.co.uk/noframes/degas/absinthe_drinker.htm
I would much rather have alcohol with my food than in it...with the exception of beer batter for fish.
I like alcohol in my food sometimes. Mussels cooked in a good white wine sauce, for example. I agree with Calamity that the quality of the alcohol matters for at least some recipes.
Thank you ossobucco for the info on Absinth.
I do like Anis/Fennel but never in a drink *brrrrr*
That is certainly something I never would combine
with food.
Stop! I'll take that back. A Bouillabaise (fish soup)
could benefit from a touch of Absinth.
Calam, try steaming some hot dogs in beer. That's my recommended
wurst case scenario.
Mr. Stillwater:
Well, that would call for some dark German beer, wouldn't it?
I like to saute' shrimp in butter, olive oil, garlic, and sweetish dry white wine then put it over pasta.
Works with marsala too...
Alcohol contains sugar and can be used to caramalize a sauce base in the pan. Add some brandy, rum, whisky, sambuca, port, marsala, sherry, or whatever floats your boat. I use it to give my sauce color and flavour.
Don't worry about alcohol content! It vaporizes at a certain degree of heat, 79°C in european, dunno how hi that is in Fahrenheit.
Where is Cav? He could help us out. OH, it's only 5 o'clock in the morning in Toronto...
I like cooking with wine....
Sometimes, I even put it in my food...
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