Don't just sip it, eat it!

Want to enhance and improve the taste of your favorite dish? Think that adding wine to your recipe will make it more scrumptious and mouth watering? Well then, you're absolutely right!

Wines are widely used in the cooking world because they intensify taste and zest. They are also capable of releasing flavors from food that are not possible by regular means of cooking.

The main question you must have now is this: What type of wine goes with what type of food?

You have red wines, white wine, sparkly champagne, sherry etc. You have grape vine types like merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, zinfandel, syrah, and Riesling. With the wide variety of them available, picking a wine is pretty tricky. The secret here is to know what combinations are used by professionals.

1. Red Wine

There used to be a rule in cooking that "red wine goes with red meat, white wine with white meat". Although it's not really true anymore, most chefs still go with that.

- For red meat, young and full bodied red wines are recommended. Try going for Zinfandel Red or Merlot.
- For red sauces, robust, full bodied wines are best. Make pasta, pizza or other tomato-sauce based dishes with it.
- Using root veggies with beef stock? You might want to look for an earth red, full bodied wine. The color it imparts to the meat makes it all the more wonderful.

2. White Wine

Cream based sauces, butter and herbs. Yum. White wine is usually used with white meat and best for light colored dishes.

- If you fancy a zesty dish, add some sparkling champagne.
- For chicken, pork or veal, try cooking with white wine. Spice up your grilled chicken by mixing dry, white wine with butter as the sauce.
- Crisp, dry white wines are ideal for seafood soup and shellfish dishes. Bouillabaisse, anyone?
- Leftover sweet white wine in your fridge? Why make delicious, delectable desserts? Whip up some Bavarian cream.

3. Fortified wine

Fortified wines are what they are: fortified. Additional neutral alcohol is added to them. Then they are aged for a long time. Examples are sherry, port and vermouth.

- Sherry is great for poultry meat and vegetables soups.
- For sweet, fruity dishes or desserts, splash some port or vermouth. Your dry vermouth can also be a good substitute for white wine.

4. Cooking wine

Cooking wines are relatively less pricey wines that use salt as a preservative. They can be found in supermarkets and groceries. Most professional chefs disdain the use of cooking wines because the salt content is hard to work with. You may need to adjust your recipe to work with the saltiness.

5. Exotic wines

Cooking is an experiment. If you're feeling bold and daring, you could try cooking with exotic wines. Asian wines are popular choices for an all together different meal. There is the sake, bekseju and seol joong mae.

- Sake is a rice based wine from Japan. Although it's mainly a beverage, it is popular as an additive to many Japanese dishes.

- Beksuju is a Korean wine made from raw rice and herbs. It can be used in vegetable dishes to increase the 'herbal' feel. Seol Joong Mae, a fruit wine made from plum, can be used for desserts and fruity dishes.

I hope that clears up some of your confusion. With that said, here are some few reminders for the novice cook:

- Cook only with wine that you would drink. There is no sense in cooking something that you wouldn't want to taste.
- There are a lot of good, quality yet inexpensive wines out there. Don't get too carried away and buy something that's way off your budget.
- Don't cook using aluminum or cast iron cookware. Alcohol is reactive with these materials and could cause harm to your dish.
- After adding your wine, try to wait for 5-10 minutes before tasting it. Wine needs to simmer for a while before it can impart flavor to your food.
- Got some left over wine? Put them in your ice cube tray and freeze them. This makes them good for future use.

Get your favorite recipe, pick a wine and start cooking!

About the Author

Lee Dobbins, an avid wine drinker, writes for http://wine.leisure-webzone.com where you can learn more about wine and when to use it properly.

Thoughts about Orange Muscat

Wine And Food Pairing


The basic golden rule is balance...neither your wine nor your food should be stronger than the other. Choose them to be complimentary to each other. A...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

Featured Orange Muscat Items

European Delight Standard


International gift basket extravagance inspired the creation of this cultivated beauty. The list of tantalizing delectables included is endless. Lobster Pate, Wine Biscuits, Wheat Crackers, Water Crackers, Gourmet Coffee, Garlic Foccoccia, Garlic Bruschetta, Brie Cheese, Camembert Cheese, Assorted Sausage, Bistro Dip and Assorted Gourmet Tea are sure to charm your European inklings and tastes. Satiate your sweet tooth with Chocolate Spoons, Honey Twisty Graham and Carmel Sauce, and of course, the four magnificent European wines: the Kaisergaten Zweigelt Trocken, European Cuvee White, Mosel Riesling Kabinett, and Merlot QBA Trocken. All elegantly placed into a handcrafted wooden basket, this is a wine gift of international verve! EDB04 EDB04S


Price: 149.95 USD



Headlines on Orange Muscat

Vinivino, a wine enthusiasts community

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 14:43:15 PST
Vinivino is a wine enthusiasts community designed to maximize future wine choices. Easily review the wines you taste.See friend’s and other members reviews – make new drinking friends with similar taste.Get community’s Wine of the Week and Top rated recommendations Vinivino, let’s talk about your tastes!vinivino.com

Sip and Spa in Niagara-on-the-Lake, North America's Best!

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:08:32 PST
SpasofAmerica.com rated the Top 30 Spas of America - two of the Top 10 can be found in Niagara on the Lake - not just wine country anymore! Find out more about 100 Fountain Spa and The Secret Garden Spa by Vintage Hotels - sip and spa, all at the same time!

Tasting notes for New Zealand wines

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:52:56 PDT
Kiwi Master of Wine Bob Campbell tastes and rates the best vino from Down Under

The use (and abuse) of wine ratings by retailers

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:31:44 PDT
How so wine retailers use professional ratings to sell wine and what it implies to shoppers.

Heavenly Wines from the Holy Land

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 03:03:51 PDT
Wine has been made in the Holy Land for millennia, but Israel's wineries are getting better all the time, and some are superb - here are 5 excellent choices for your consideration, rated by Robert Partker.

Media Approval Ratings: Paul Zimmerman Media Approval Ratings]

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 20:11:39 PDT
It’s rare that an NFL column makes us feel like we just drank a bottle of wine, but that’s what Paul Zimmerman — Dr. Z, if you’re down with the hip parlance — does for us. We felt bad for him when he had to do the “pick-off” with swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker — from which this photo was taken — but hey, what the kids want, the kids get. And we love how baffled he gets by NFL broadcasters; that’s probably our favorite column of his every year. Oh, and he hates the NFL Network. So: Do you li


Wine Linux
Wine Rack
Bordeaux Wine | Brandy Wine

Labels: Cheese Wine

&type=page">