Learn the 6 Best Liquors for Cooking
Ever wonder what and how adult beverages can possibly enhance the flavors of your every dish? Indeed, alcohol can enhance the flavor of food once paired with it, but its genuine power lies in what it can do when used for cooking.
Much the same as salt and pepper, liquors are also flavor enhancers. Its extraordinary chemical properties make much more than just a pair to a meal. Each liquor blends its unique flavor to specific dishes. If you are curious how liquors can enliven your standard cooking routine, read on below and see how the different varieties of liquors work in balance with your food even with the simplest dishes.
Red Wine
There are a lot of varieties of dishes you can do with red wine. Zinfandels can offer fruity and peppery blends. The coonawarra wineries premium quality of Cabernet is loaded with tannins and can light up a dish with an acidic flavor. Pinot Noir is a classic cooking wine. Its light to medium-bodied red wine makes it the best accompaniment for meat-heavy dishes.
White Wine
White wine, particularly dry, crisp ones are good for everyday cooking of various dishes. You can use it in sauces, assist you with deglaze skillets, and it is excellent for marinating or simmering lightly flavored meats. Sauvignon Blanc blends perfectly with most dishes. It is light enough that it won’t dominate your dishes but create a more pleasing flavor.
Borbon
Borbon is an incredible liquor added to a sauce, and it also helps organic products to absorb.
The taste that the combination of oak, vanilla, and caramel creates makes it perfect for making desserts and confections.
Whiskey
Whiskey, distilled from grains, is the alcoholic form of salt. It draws out the ocean in seafood dishes, the smoke in cured meats, and the sweetness in desserts.
Also, its distinctive aging process gives it a wide variety of flavors from citrus to peaty, which will be absorbed into your dish and will enable you to experiment with different tastes.
Beer
Beer is also a staple ingredient in every chef’s kitchen. It does not only enhance the flavor of a dish, but it also has natural enzymes that help soften meats that makes it a perfect ingredient for marinating. When it comes to flavoring, beer adds rich flavors to soups and stews, which makes them taste like they’ve been simmered for a long time, even if you just prepared them quickly for an hour before.
Vodka
There are unexpected advantages when you add vodka in your dishes. Its clean and mild flavor does wonders to enhance tomatoes. It is also an excellent ingredient to add to baked goods. If you want to create a flaky yet melty crust, then you need to add some vodka. Most recipes use a minimum amount of water to reserve the dough’s flakiness. But, that can make the dough hard to work with. That’s why, rather than adding more water, try to add vodka to avoid sticky crust. And it will make your crust flaky but meltable in the mouth without leaving any flavor of vodka.
Rum
If you want a caramelized flambée finish, rum is the best cooking liquor for that. Made out of sugar cane, rum is the alcohol perfect for adding to your desserts. Its natural caramel flavor makes an ideal blend with tropical fruits, bananas, and cakes.
If you like something spicier, you can use spiced rums. Spiced rum with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves is a great ingredient to add to any fall-weather dishes.