When
correctly used, wine can transform an average meal into a delectable culinary
experience. Although it has been around for centuries, many people are not sure
how to cook with wine, and even more people are apprehensive about serving it
with their meals because they are concerned they might choose the wrong wine.
Read the simple directions below to learn all you need to know about wine
selection and wine use in cooking.
The first thing you should understand is that you do not need to be a sophisticated wine connoisseur to use and enjoy wine properly. Simply follow the one fundamental rule of wine selection: Always serve white wines with white fish and ‘white meats’ (veal, chicken etc), and red wines with red meats and fish (salmon, for instance).
If you already know about the rule above, and would like to refine your wine selection knowledge, here is a second rule to help you match wine with a meal: Always try to choose wines that balance the flavor of the food. Oenophiles (wine connoisseurs) use the term ‘counteractive’. All this means is that the wine you select should not overpower the taste of the food it is served with. Nor should the taste of the food overpower the flavor of the wine.
Of course, when you serve an elaborate meal with many different ingredients and flavors, the choice of wine becomes a bit more complicated. The best option is to serve a wine that matches the principal ingredient in a dish (red meat, poultry …). In general, the best way to arrive at the perfect food / wine combination is to make sure that both food and wine have similar taste characteristics (acidity, sweetness and bitterness). Dessert should be matched with a sweet wine, and foods with a predominantly bitter taste are best combined with more bitter-flavored wines.
The third taste characteristic, acidity, will need a little more effort on your part. Determining how acidic a wine should be is not difficult however. Just ask yourself whether the main dish you are serving would be more flavorful with an additional acid taste. If you are serving fish, for instance, adding lemon (acid) would probably enhance the flavor. This means you would do well to match it with a more acidic wine. You’ll find that white wines, which are best served with fish and white meat are often acidic. Examples of acidic white wines are white Bordeaux, many sparkling wines, and Rieslings. If you need an acidic red wine, you can try Pinot Noirs or Gamays.
You can get at slow cooker recipes the wealth of additional information on the subject of matching wine with food from wine clubs or by searching at http://www.a-crock-cook.com/.
The next subject concerns cooking with wine; a useful tip to keep in mind is to never use ‘cooking wine’. Salt is used as a preservative in these wines. By lowering the rate of fermentation, it prolongs shelf life. ‘Cooking wines’ will not enhance the flavor of any dish you are preparing; on the contrary, the salt they contain will spoil any dish you are cooking. Another reason not to use cooking wine is the fact that they taste awful.
Most experienced cooks and professional chefs believe that the wine used in cooking should be a drinkable wine. Rather than grabbing a ‘cooking wine’ off the shelf, learn which drinkable wines are most suitable to cook with. This does not mean that you should use expensive wines in stews and the like. For most dishes, a lower priced dry wine is the best option (white wine for cooking fish and white meats, red wine for red meats and red fish). Sweet wines are not normally used for cooking, although some recipes do call for them.
Following the crock pot recipes you should make easier for you to use wine to prepare delicious dishes and to select the correct wine to serve with your meal.
The first thing you should understand is that you do not need to be a sophisticated wine connoisseur to use and enjoy wine properly. Simply follow the one fundamental rule of wine selection: Always serve white wines with white fish and ‘white meats’ (veal, chicken etc), and red wines with red meats and fish (salmon, for instance).
If you already know about the rule above, and would like to refine your wine selection knowledge, here is a second rule to help you match wine with a meal: Always try to choose wines that balance the flavor of the food. Oenophiles (wine connoisseurs) use the term ‘counteractive’. All this means is that the wine you select should not overpower the taste of the food it is served with. Nor should the taste of the food overpower the flavor of the wine.
Of course, when you serve an elaborate meal with many different ingredients and flavors, the choice of wine becomes a bit more complicated. The best option is to serve a wine that matches the principal ingredient in a dish (red meat, poultry …). In general, the best way to arrive at the perfect food / wine combination is to make sure that both food and wine have similar taste characteristics (acidity, sweetness and bitterness). Dessert should be matched with a sweet wine, and foods with a predominantly bitter taste are best combined with more bitter-flavored wines.
The third taste characteristic, acidity, will need a little more effort on your part. Determining how acidic a wine should be is not difficult however. Just ask yourself whether the main dish you are serving would be more flavorful with an additional acid taste. If you are serving fish, for instance, adding lemon (acid) would probably enhance the flavor. This means you would do well to match it with a more acidic wine. You’ll find that white wines, which are best served with fish and white meat are often acidic. Examples of acidic white wines are white Bordeaux, many sparkling wines, and Rieslings. If you need an acidic red wine, you can try Pinot Noirs or Gamays.
You can get at slow cooker recipes the wealth of additional information on the subject of matching wine with food from wine clubs or by searching at http://www.a-crock-cook.com/.
The next subject concerns cooking with wine; a useful tip to keep in mind is to never use ‘cooking wine’. Salt is used as a preservative in these wines. By lowering the rate of fermentation, it prolongs shelf life. ‘Cooking wines’ will not enhance the flavor of any dish you are preparing; on the contrary, the salt they contain will spoil any dish you are cooking. Another reason not to use cooking wine is the fact that they taste awful.
Most experienced cooks and professional chefs believe that the wine used in cooking should be a drinkable wine. Rather than grabbing a ‘cooking wine’ off the shelf, learn which drinkable wines are most suitable to cook with. This does not mean that you should use expensive wines in stews and the like. For most dishes, a lower priced dry wine is the best option (white wine for cooking fish and white meats, red wine for red meats and red fish). Sweet wines are not normally used for cooking, although some recipes do call for them.
Following the crock pot recipes you should make easier for you to use wine to prepare delicious dishes and to select the correct wine to serve with your meal.
