Don’t just drink it, eat it!

Do you want to enhance and improve the flavor of your favorite dish? Do you think that adding wine to your recipe will make it more delicious and appetizing? Well then you are absolutely right!

Wines are widely used in the world of cooking because they intensify flavor and zest. They are also capable of releasing flavors in food that are not possible through regular cooking.

The main question you should have now is this: What kind of wine goes with what kind of food?

You have red wines, white wine, sparkling champagne, sherry, etc. You have grape vine types like merlot, sauvignon blanc, zinfandel, syrah, and riesling. With the wide variety available, choosing a wine is quite difficult. The secret here is knowing what combinations the pros use.

1. Red wine

There used to be a rule in the kitchen that “red wine goes with red meat, white wine with white meat”. Although it’s not really true anymore, most chefs stick with it.

– For red meats, young, full-bodied red wines are recommended. Try choosing Zinfandel Red or Merlot.

– For red sauces, robust and full-bodied wines are best. Prepare pasta, pizza or other tomato sauce-based dishes with it.

– Use root vegetables with beef broth? You may want to look for a full-bodied, earthy red wine. The color it imparts to meat makes it even more wonderful.

2. White wine

Cream, butter and herb based sauces. yum. White wine is generally used with white meat and is best for light-colored dishes.

– If you fancy a spicy dish, add some sparkling champagne.

– For chicken, pork or beef, try cooking with white wine. Flavor your grilled chicken by mixing dry white wine with butter as a sauce.

– Crisp, dry white wines are ideal for seafood soups and seafood dishes. Bouillabaisse, anyone?

– Leftover sweet white wine in your fridge? Why make delicious and delicious desserts? Prepare some Bavarian cream.

3. Generous wine

Generous wines are what they are: generous. Additional neutral alcohol is added to them. Then they are aged for a long time. Some examples are sherry, port and vermouth.

– Sherry is ideal for vegetable and poultry soups.

– For sweet, fruity dishes or desserts, splash a little port or vermouth. Your dry vermouth can also be a good substitute for white wine.

4. Cook wine

Cooking wines are relatively less expensive wines that use salt as a preservative. They can be found in supermarkets and grocery stores. Most professional chefs are scornful of using wines in cooking because the salt content is hard to work with. You may need to adjust your recipe to work with the salinity.

5. Exotic wines

Cooking is an experiment. If you feel bold and daring, you can try cooking with exotic wines. Asian wines are popular options for a different meal all together. There’s sake, bekseju, and seol joong mae.

– Sake is a rice-based wine from Japan. Although it is primarily a drink, it is popular as an additive to many Japanese dishes.

– Beksuju is a Korean wine made from raw rice and herbs. It can be used in vegetable dishes to increase the “herb” feeling. Seol Joong Mae, a fruit wine made from plum, can be used for desserts and fruity dishes.

I hope that clears up some of your confusion. With that said, here are a few reminders for the novice cook:

– Cook only with the wine you would drink. There’s no point in cooking something you wouldn’t want to try.

– There are many good, quality and cheap wines. Don’t get too carried away and buy something that is out of your budget.

– Do not cook with aluminum or cast iron cookware. Alcohol reacts with these materials and could damage your dish.

– After adding your wine, try to wait 5-10 minutes before tasting. The wine must simmer for a while before it can flavor the food.

– Did you have any wine left over? Put them in your ice cube tray and freeze them. This makes them good for future use.

Get your favorite recipe, choose a wine and start cooking!