 Cooking with Wine
18th century English cooks were well acquainted with the inclusion of various wines in their foods. A set of recipes published in 1739 called for the use of a medley of wines; a Fast Day soup” prepared with wine; an oatmeal porridge consisting of the addition of fruits, flowers, plus claret and sack (a Spanish sherry that is heavy and sweet); cod stewed in white wine; a flounder fricassee” (presumably a fricassee) made in white wine; veal kidneys cooked in sack; a roast haunch (leg and loin) of venison made with claret sauce; sack used in making various kinds of fritters; a claret-enhanced hog meat pie; etc. As one can easily see, wine played an important part in England’s culinary history.
Wine found its way to Colonial America. Huge quantities of sherry, port, and madeira were imported into the Colonies; the potables were tremendously popular with the founding fathers. Thomas Jefferson produced many of his own wines. Much wine was served at Mount Vernon; George Washington was a genial host, popular for serving many wine dishes to his dinner guests. An examination of early American recipes will reveal how essential wine was to a suitable concoction of fine food. The same observation holds true for the use of wine in classic French cooking.
There are no hard and fast rules about how to pair wines with particular foods. You do not have to use white wine to season chicken, seafood dishes, or cream soups just as there is no commandment stating red wines are used solely for red meats and hardy sauces.
Use what tastes good to you!
The use of wine in cooking is intended to intensify and augment the flavor and texture of the food. It is not meant to disguise the flavor or quality but rather to enhance it.
There are some general rules to consider when cooking with wine:- Use a wine you would drink. A poor quality wine will do nothing to enhance the the flavors of the dish you are preparing, other than to contribute bitterness or sourness to the entire melange.
- Stay away from “cooking wine,” generally found near the vinegar shelf in supermarkets. This wine has had salt added to it to discourage you not to drink it straight or as seasoning. Avoid this type of wine at all costs, even if it means cooking your food dish totally wineless.
- Use wines as a spice. The longer you cook a dish with wine, the more mellow the the flavor will be. Red wines tend to add color clarity, and an unmistakable dry feature to the foods with which they have been cooked. White wines have an acidic quality that encourages the diner to occasionally pucker up upon that first sip.
- Wine undergoes chemical changes upon adding heat. The changes occur when the wine is added to the cooking process and what is done to it next. Alcohol in wine evaporates at 178º F. while water boils at 212º F. If you intend to deglaze a hot pan with wine, more alcohol than water will evaporate at the beginning. The amount of alcohol decreases in proportion to the amount of water, so there will be less alcohol evaporating.
- Depending upon the amount of wine reduction desired (and if another liquid is also present), you could still have a remainder of 0 - 60% alcohol. The amount of alcohol will decrease the longer the cooking time has been extended. Rather than liquids becoming concentrated, the other flavors make the change. If you use a fruity wine, the fruity taste will be intensified. The same is true with a sweet wine. If you have fallen prey to the supermarket “cooking wine,” its salty content will have concentrated. And you will end up being very thirsty rather than sated.
- The most frequent use of wine in cooking is in deglazing a sauté pan and thus using it for the base of a sauce. The color of the wine is the most important aspect in demining how much time to spend reducing the wine, unless alcohol is a concern. Most of the alcohol in white wine reduces quite quickly. Red wine needs to be reduced to a very low level. Unless you reduce your red wine to a high degree, your food will be purple. If you reduce the color compounds, plus the flavor, you should end up with deeper and richer colors that will complement the browns produced by a rich stock.
- The cooking process is finished by using wine at the very end of the preparation process. A wine such as Marsala is fortified and not added when the pan is deglazed after sautéing veal. The sweetness is not overwhelming but subtle aromas are enhanced by the heat of the dish.
Experiment! Try different wines with different meats. Try various heats. You may be surprised with your results.
See more hints, insights, and unusual facts about food and cooking at Niftykitchen.com Food and Cooking Tips. Terry Kaufman is also Chief Editorial Writer for Niftygarden.com and Niftyhomebar.com.
©2007 Terry Kaufman. No reprints without permission.
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