Wine is an alcoholic beverage, the strength of which varies between 16-22% vol. It is obtained by complete or partial fermentation of grape juice. Sometimes alcohol or other substances are added to the wine during the preparation process.
Why is wine added to dishes
The very first to use wine in cooking were the French. It was with their light hand that wine began to be added to the first and second courses, to prepare sauces on its basis.
According to them, wine can not only complement, but also significantly improve the taste of a dish. Indeed, when using this drink, sauces become thinner, meat softer and juicier, and desserts acquire unique aromas.
Rules for adding wine to meat dishes
When using wine in cooking, you must follow some rules. Otherwise, the result may be unpredictable.
For example, you can find special culinary wine on store shelves. It’s better not to use it. It contains a large amount of preservatives and salts. It is not able to enrich the dish with new flavors.
If you need to add some acidity to the dish, it is better to use white wine. As a rule, Sauvignon Blanc is purchased for this purpose. It is suitable for preparing not only salads, vegetable dishes and various sauces based on lemon juice. It also goes well with fish. By the way, wine should be added to fish when it already begins to brown.
As for red wines, here the nuance of their use lies in the tannins, which these drinks are rich in. Red wines add an astringent flavor to the dishes. Therefore, Cabernet and Shiraz are well suited for making wine and meat sauces. They also complement beef perfectly. But wines like Chianti or Merlot go well with poultry, pork, veal and are suitable for making various creamy sauces. Moreover, the fatter the meat, the more astringent and astringent the wine should be. This rule applies not only to the process of cooking meat with the addition of wine, but also to its preliminary marinating.
By the way, to prepare meat sauces, you should first dilute the wine, and then add all the ingredients required by the recipe.
In addition to the above nuances, there is one general rule for cooking dishes using wine, namely: the wine should be added in advance, otherwise there is a risk of getting a pronounced taste of alcohol. Moreover, alcohol should be added in portions, making an interval of about 10 minutes between them. The only exceptions to this rule are fortified varieties - they must be added a couple of minutes before being ready.
And most importantly: the wine used in the dish must be the same as the one served on the table.
