Wining and Dining

Cooking with vino adds richness of flavour

Wine isn't just for sipping in between bites at the dinner table. It also imparts a special richness to dishes, whether a main-course meal or a dessert.
Some people worry that they're not sure which wine to use in their cooking. The answer is quite simple: if it's not good enough to drink, don't add it to your dishes. Cooking with wine follows a basic rule of thumb: within reason, the better the wine you cook with, the better the dish. You don't have to use your best bottle in a dish, but using an inexpensive white or red in your next dish will only make it forgettable. In general, red wines impart a more bodied flavour to dishes than its white counterparts.
Avoid those bottles on supermarket shelves that advertise they're "cooking wines." It's filled with additives and salt, which ruins the quality of the liquid, and inevitably, your dish.
Wine, except for some fortified wines, should be added at the beginning of the cooking process, and it should be simmered, not cooked at high heat for a fast period of time. Adding it in the last few minutes of cooking will give your dish a harsh taste.
Alcohol boils faster than water, and the alcohol content in wine decreases through cooking, so the more time the wine is cooking, the less alcohol you'll be left with. Cooking, however, will emphasize the flavour of the wine, so fruity wines will add a fruity flavour to the dish, a sweeter wine will add a sweet taste to the finished produce and so on.
Then there are fortified wines, which are commonly used in desserts, especially sweet fortified wines. Fortified wines such as Sherry, Port and Vermouth, also have a higher alcohol content than other wines. Sherry is commonly added to a cream soup at the very end of the cooking process.
Fish with white wine, meat with red. That was an adage passed on for generations, but wine has changed since then and so has this way of thinking. It depends on the fish. It depends on how the fish is cooked. Has it been grilled, steamed or fried? Each method of cooking will impart a different taste. The same goes for the red wine-meat theory. What's really needed is balance.
The dish should be your starting guide, not the other way around, so the more delicate the dish, the more subtle the wine, the bolder the dish, the bolder the wine needs to be to stand up against it.
Wine can be used in a variety of cooking stages. You can marinade your food in wine. The alcohol and acidity in the wine will tenderize the meat or fish before cooking and highlights a food's natural flavours. A fortified wine like sherry is a cook pick.
Wine can also be used in soups, sauces, or stews. White wine is particularly good in chicken and fish stocks, while red wine is used in a must in game stock.
Wine can also be used to deglaze a sauce. To deglaze your dish, simply pour some wine into a pan from which you've removed your meat or fish. The juices remaining from the meat or fish will combine with the wine to make a delicious sauce.
Fish stews get a helping hand from dry white wine, while a leg of lamb is a good match for a full-bodied red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon. Zabaglione is an Italian dessert based on egg yolks, sugar and Marsala wine. Pears poached in red wine is an Italian delicacy. For that special someone on Valentine's Day, try out Fragole e vino, a simple and delicious dolce. Fresh sliced strawberries are soaked in red wine and some sugar.

Publication Date: 2004-02-15
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3639