It’s a dash of red wine here and swish of brandy there — using alcohol in cooking can bring out complex and stronger flavors in dishes.
According to Fine Cooking Magazine, through evaporation and molecular bonding, an alcoholic beverage can improve flavor perception. Its ability to bond with fat and water is well translated in marinade, which results in more flavors and aroma in the marinated food.
University of Idaho Campus Dietitian Marissa Rudley said alcohol can add flavors to a lot of foods and is a great way to marinate certain meats. She said there are different types of alcohol to cook with — beer, wine and spirits — and only small amounts are necessary.
“Even adding a tablespoon of some kind of spirits when you are cooking any kinds of foods, that can be helpful to induce it with a little bit of flavor,” Rudley said.
Rudley said beers are usually used in soups, stews and red meats, while wine is utilized in French cooking and in sauces, hearty stews and poultry. She also said spirit brands like Brandy and Kahlua can be a great addition in baking.
“It really gives it a different dimension of flavor that you wouldn’t necessarily get from an extract,” Rudley said. “So, that can be a fun way to bake or make desserts.”
Rudley said one of her family traditions is to make Kahlua cake, a rich chocolate cake with coffee taste from Kahlua liquor. She said this cake has a very different taste than regular chocolate cake.
According to Fine Cooking Magazine, 75 percent of alcohol is retained when flambeing and only 25 percent when simmering a baking mixture for an hour.
Rudley said two factors affect alcohol retention while cooking — length of time and the size of cooking vessel.
George Skandalos is a chef and the owner of Sangria Grille and Maialina Pizzeria Napoletana in Moscow. He said Sangria focuses on Peruvian cuisine with using North American ingredients.
Skandalos said he imports corn from Peru and brews corn beer, called Chicha de jora, in the restaurant. This beer is used in some of Sangria’s dishes like seafood stew, parihuela, a lamb dish, seco de cordero norteño and in soups.
Skandalos said Pisco, a grape brandy that originated from Peru, is also used in another Sangria dish, Pisco clams. He said the alcohol in Pisco clams is burnt off while cooking, yet leaves sweet and sour flavors in the dish.
“Cooking in general — it’s like using colors when you’re a painter,” Skandalos said. “So, you have different attributes. You use sugar, salt. You use vegetables. You use protein and alcohol is just one more ingredient. So, we use alcohol in some dishes just because the way it interacts with other ingredients and the flavors that impart in it.”
Nurainy Darono
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