Alcohol in cooking. Part one

In the eyes of public opinion, at least in Russia, alcohol plays an unenviable and undeserved role as the source of all troubles. Why unenviable is understandable, but undeserved, because the value of alcoholic beverages is reduced to a drug, which must certainly be drunk to an unconscious state, and then done things.

Today we will talk about something else: about the use of alcohol in cooking. There are a lot of prejudices on this topic, as well as just blank spots that need to be dispelled. The first and main answer to the unspoken question is that dishes in the preparation of which alcoholic drinks were involved do not contain alcohol. Ethyl alcohol is a volatile compound, and during heat treatment it completely evaporates in a few minutes, which means that children and other representatives of the “risk group” can eat such dishes without restrictions.

This, of course, does not apply to such things as sorbet with vodka and the like, so common sense and logic should not be turned off either. In total, there are not so many different ways of consuming alcohol in dishes:

 
  • Alcohol as an integral part of the dish
  • Alcohol as a flaming agent
  • Alcohol as the base of the marinade
  • Alcohol as the base of the sauce
  • Alcohol as an accompaniment to the dish

Let’s consider these special cases separately.

Alcohol in dishes

In fact, there are not so many cases when alcoholic beverages are an ordinary ingredient in a dish: you can recall soups – a glass of vodka, as you know, ennobles the ear, and a little white wine – any fish broth in general. There are also pates, terrines and other snacks, where cognac or brandy is sometimes added for flavor. As you have already noticed, all these dishes have one thing in common: they use alcohol as a spice, in homeopathic doses.

In other words, we are talking about excess, which you can do without. It is undesirable, but if it is attached, it is quite possible. Another thing is baking: if alcohol is used in it, then in an adult way. Of course, here, it happens, microscopic doses of liquor are added, but there are also opposite examples – say, dough on beer, from which bread, pies and pies are made, cookies, and even more exotic things, like pasties or napoleons.

You don’t have to go far for recipes – take any recipe for dough or batter, replace the water in it with beer, and feel the difference. The point here is both the yeast contained in the beer and the magic bubbles, thanks to which, for example, the layering of the finished dough product is significantly improved. No less worth mentioning is the batter on beer, with which any deep-fried dishes turn out to be excellent.

Speaking of baked goods, one cannot but recall the Baba Rum. In our country, it is considered to be an ordinary dessert, and as a child I myself liked to drink tea with a delicate, porous cake, which is soaked in sweet, barely piquant syrup. A real baba is not food for youngsters. Having ordered it in Paris, at the Alain Ducasse bistro, I was surprised when they brought me a cupcake and a few bottles of rum to choose from – and experienced a culture shock when the waiter poured a glass of randomly selected rum right on the woman and put a few spoons of chantilly cream on top. In truth, it was not the best example of a baba: the dough should have been allowed to soak well – but it is still soaked in rum, so this dish combines both a dessert and a digestif.

Flaming

Speaking of baked goods, one cannot but recall the Baba Rum. In our country, it is considered to be an ordinary dessert, and as a child I myself liked to drink tea with a delicate, porous cake, which is soaked in sweet, barely piquant syrup. A real baba is not food for youngsters. Having ordered it in Paris, at the Alain Ducasse bistro, I was surprised when they brought me a cupcake and a few bottles of rum to choose from – and experienced a culture shock when the waiter poured a glass of randomly selected rum right on the woman and put a few spoons of chantilly cream on top.

In truth, it was not the best example of a baba rum: the dough should have been allowed to soak well – but it is still soaked in rum, so this dish combines both a dessert and a digestif. Flambéing is a culinary technique in which a little is poured onto the dish. strong alcohol, then set on fire. Its name comes from the French “flamber” – “to blaze”, and dishes prepared in this way get the prefix “flambé” to the name. This technique is used in many dishes, but it brings a special chic to the look of desserts, which are served at the end of the meal, when the stomachs are already full and the appearance of the dish comes to the fore.

This is not surprising, because the mysterious tongues of blue flame, which lick but do not burn the dish, turn the very fact of its appearance on the table into a real show. When flaming, alcohol burns out without a trace and is responsible for special effects. The flavoring component of this extravaganza is provided, firstly, by the combustion process itself – for example, if you sprinkle the fruit with powdered sugar before setting it on fire, a tasty and appetizing crust is formed – and secondly, the flavoring substances that come to the fore after alcohol, partially hiding them until now, will completely burn out.

For this reason, the very drink with which you light it up must be of high quality, fortunately and you need very little of it. What kind of drink it will be – decide for yourself: depending on what exactly you are going to flambé, this can be done with the help of cognac or brandy, Calvados, vodka, rum, grappa, whiskey, gin, liqueurs and other spirits that are not included in this list. And remember – preliminary practice and observance of precautionary measures will be useful companions for a novice pyromaniac, because together with Suzette pancakes it is very easy to light a curtain or dress of a neighbor on the table.

For this reason, the very drink with which you light it up must be of high quality, fortunately and you need very little of it. What kind of drink it will be – decide for yourself: depending on what exactly you are going to flambé, this can be done with the help of cognac or brandy, Calvados, vodka, rum, grappa, whiskey, gin, liqueurs and other spirits that are not included in this list. And remember – preliminary practice and observance of precautionary measures will be useful companions for a novice pyromaniac, because together with Suzette pancakes it is very easy to light a curtain or dress of a neighbor on the table.

It is pertinent to add to the above that if flaming is required by a recipe but terrifies you, it can be replaced by simply adding and evaporating the appropriate beverage. Of course, this trick is appropriate with pate, but will not work with pancakes, which are flambéed during serving.

Pickling

What is the most masculine dish in our country? Barbecue, of course. It is men, banging their fists on the chest, who like to declare themselves unsurpassed barbecue specialists. It was they who came up with the idea of ​​pouring beer on the grilled kebab (I hate it when they do that). And probably it was they who came up with the idea of ​​marinating meat in alcoholic beverages.

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