Wines, beers, and spirits have long been enjoyed as beverages but are taking on a new role as flavoring ingredients in cooking and baking. Although some countries have used it liberally in the past, it is now used in many traditional and non-traditional cuisines and cooking applications around the world.
A cook does not have to be a bartender or wine host to properly use these drinks in the kitchen. A basic understanding of the types of drinks and the flavors that predominate in them is an important aspect of modern food cooking.
Alcoholic beverages provide another way to improve the flavor of foods. Although most people think of liqueurs only as drinks, professional chefs use them to impart unique tastes to cooked foods or pastries.
Various types of liqueurs can be used to flavor foods and pastries before, during, and after cooking or baking. Wine, beer, ale, brandy, and various liquors have been used for centuries to flavor some of the most common and exotic foods and pastries.
Liquors are part of a whole spectrum of flavors that can blend with or dominate the flavors of any given dish and can add character to the final presentation. When enhancing flavors in food, chefs cannot overlook the versatility provided by the use of liquid flavor enhancers.
The history of wine and beer is as old as recorded history itself. It may never be known how they were discovered and when they were first used but they have often been the subject of speculation. Humans have enjoyed the spirit of these drinks for thousands of years. As cooking and baking have evolved, so has the use of these natural flavors. Brandy and liquor can extraordinarily discern simple tastes. These liquids can spice up the simplest preparations without fat or other unhealthy ingredients.
Not only do wine, beer, brandy, and liqueur impart flavors to foods, but many of them may add to the nutritional value of the final product. Alcohol by itself does not add nutritionally to the human diet (and is usually reduced or eliminated by evaporation during cooking or baking), but alcohol-containing beverages can contribute to nutrition.
Some types of wine contain potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. Most other wines aid in the absorption of these minerals as well as zinc when consumed as part of a meal. Researchers are studying any relationship between moderate wine consumption and a healthy level of high-density lipoproteins (HDL, or “good”) cholesterol in the bloodstream. If true, moderate wine intake (one to two glasses per day) may play a role in reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Beer contains traces of protein or amino acids, fats and some B vitamins, which remain in the bottle or could form the yeast used in the fermentation process. Liquors are often flavored with herbal and spice extracts and were originally created as medicinal remedies. Their contribution to health can be debated but not completely denied.
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