When you add wine to your dishes, you are not only cultivating and enhance the flavors of your dishes but also accentuating their texture.
But since there are numerous types of wines available in the market, finding the best one may be difficult.
According to cooking experts, the best bet is to use wine that you would drink.
It is important to note that it is only the alcohol that will become diminished during the cooking process and not the quality or the taste of the wine. That said, you should carefully choose the wine you use in your dishes.
White Wine vs. Red Wine – Which is a Better Option?
When I started experimenting with the dishes I make, I began to wonder what would be best to use – white wine or red wine. There is no definite answer for this, as the answer would much depend on what you are cooking.
Red wine tends to bring clarity and color. It also brings out a noticeable dry characteristic to the ingredients that it is used with. It is ideal to use red wine when you are working on flavoring red sauces with red meat.
White wine, on the other hand, tends to bring an acidic but flavorful taste to a dish. This type of wine is perfect for cream sauces or to emphasize the flavor of the white meat and seafood like scallops.
Flavor Factors in Wine that Make It a Great Addition to Your Dishes
So, what are then flavor factors in wine that make it a great addition to your favorite dishes?
Let us take a look at the flavor factors of wine that make it a crucial ingredient in many recipes.
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Alcohol in Wine
The alcohol in the wine will not add flavor to the dish, as it will only make the other components of the dish release their flavor and make the dish more flavorful. That said, alcohol will help the flavor molecules in food, allowing the ingredients to reveal their unique flavor in ways that other liquids or fats cannot.
When you add wine to a sauce, you have to make sure that you allow the alcohol to cool off. If you fail to do such, your sauce will have a slightly boozy and harsh taste.
It is important to remember that when you add the wine, you have to cook the sauce uncovered until it is reduced in half. As alcohol evaporates, the flavor of the sauce will begin to concentrate and become more flavorful and delicious.
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Be Mindful of the Wine’s Level of Acidity
When it comes to cooking tomato-based sauces, you have to take into consideration the wine’s acidity. You have to make sure that the wine you choose has enough acid to stand the acidity of tomato sauce.
It is important to remember that all wines are acidic. So when you use wine in your cooking your dishes, you have to make sure that you use nonreactive pots and pans, those that are made from enameled cast iron or stainless steel to avoid any discoloration when the acid interacts with the cookware.
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Make the Right Pairings with Flavors and Aromas
When you are making a dish that has one or two distinct flavors, it is essential to consider those wine that shares those basic taste characteristics.
You should consider the aromas of the ingredients that you use in your dishes and decide which type of wine can significantly bring about their distinct flavors.
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Avoid Tannins If You Must
Tannins can affect the texture of the wine. Such change in composition is often experienced when we taste the dish as a drying sensation and not a specific taste.
Tannins come from the skin, stem, and seeds of grapes. Red wines have more tannin than to white wines.
Scallops with Savory White Wine Sauce
Now that you know the basics about cooking with wine and the essential tips and tricks that can help you achieve a flavorful dish using wine let us start cooking a tasty white wine infused dish – scallops with savory white wine sauce.
You can make this recipe in just about 15 minutes and create about four servings.
Ingredients:
- One pound of sea scallops
- One tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 cups dry white wine
- One tablespoon of butter
- Three tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
- Two cloves of garlic, minced
- Two tablespoons of minced parsley
- Pepper and salt to taste
Steps:
- Heat olive oil using a heavy skillet over high heat.
- When the oil starts to smoke, you can then add the scallops.
- You have to sear each side of the scallop for about a minute or two or until each side has a golden brown color.
- Lower the heat to medium heat and add about half a cup of white wine.
- Simmer the mixture for about two minutes before removing the cooked scallops from the pan.
- In the same pan, add the lemon juice, garlic, and the remaining white wine.
- Make sure to bring the mixture to boil and reduce the sauce mixture by half. You have to make sure that you leave the skillet uncovered when boiling.
- Once the sauce is reduced in half, you have to add parsley and butter. Then, you can season the white wine sauce with salt and pepper to your liking.
- For plating, you have to place the scallops on a clean plate and smother it with the savory white wine sauce before serving.
- Enjoy 🙂
With this simple recipe, you can enjoy a quick and easy but flavorful recipe with your family. If you think this article is helpful, share it with your friends so we can empower them too to make scallops with savory white wine sauce.
This Guest Post was written by Dona Williams of donaskitchen.com exclusively for Social Vignerons.
Dona is a part-time blogger and a full-time housewife with big love for cooking. She is the founder and editor of donaskitchen.com an avenue for sharing her passion about juicing, plant-based diet and living a healthier lifestyle.
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