French cuisine is simply incomplete without its other half – wine. We’ll call it the other half because without it, the French will be heartbroken and left hungry! And that would be just unacceptable now, wouldn’t it? After all, wine is a crucial part of French cuisine as it’s paired with main course dishes as well as desserts. And guess what, they also use it to prepare several of their most popular meals! So, let’s sit down together and understand how a liquor element enhances a whole cuisine on its own.
A Glance Through History (With A Sip Of Wine):
Wine has remained one of the prominent parts of French cuisine since the 6th century BC. And it is still a staple part of the cuisine today, either as an accompaniment or an ingredient in a dish.
French cuisine finds its roots in Gaul Heritage. The Gauls, a group of Celtic people, were known for their wine production and culinary art where they used local herbs and spices. The French were inspired by them and later made it their own, marking the beginning of French cuisine.
Now, France is also known as one of the largest producers of wine with nearly 800,000 hectares of vineyards overall. And when you produce this many tonnes of wine, you’re bound to use it!
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How Does Wine Fit In The French Picture?
The French will embrace a glass of wine with their meal at any time of the day. This, and its role in a variety of dishes, makes it a vital part of French cuisine.
What does the wine really do? Let’s have a look…
1. Wine Enhances your Taste Experience
Wine is a flavor enhancer. It’s the glue that holds the whole dish together and makes it more yummy! It enhances and balances all the flavors in a dish with it’s acidity, which gives the dish a kick. Both red wine and white wine can be used as a flavor enhancer.
Coq au Vin, a delicacy, is one of the most known examples for this. The chicken is cooked at low heat in red wine with lardons (strips of bacon) and mushrooms. Thanks to wine, the meat gets tenderized easily and also gets an edgy flavor.
“Why stop there?”, the French said. They kept going and added sauces to the list of things to make with wine! The acidity of the wine helps the overall flavor. To take an example, Bordelaise is a well-known sauce cooked with red wine, meat glaze, shallots, butter, and bone marrow. Another example is Lyonnaise prepared using white wine along with vinegar and onions.
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2. Wine makes your Marinades
Wine is also used in marinades as a base flavor or tenderizer alongside herbs and spices i.e it makes the tough flesh-fiber of the meat soft by breaking down a protein (collagen) and keeping it moist. Thanks to this, the meat simply melts away in your mouth with bursts of flavor.
3. The Acidity of Wine Braises
The acidic property of wine can help in braising (cooking with dry and wet heat in a sealed container) the meat in dishes. This process gives the dish a beautiful color and adds depth of flavor!
Also read: A Complete Guide To Vin Jaune, The Yellow Wine
Summing Up
Now you see how wine has become such a vital part of French culture and cuisine. It’s a tradition that has been passed down by generations and it only seems to flourish more as the years pass us by! So, choose your wine-warrior and embrace French culture. And remember – “The more the wine, the better the food!”
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FAQs
1. What is the importance of wine in French Cuisine?
Wine is an important part of French culture, as it can have multiple roles in a dish. It can act as a flavor enhancer, in marination, preparation of sauces, etc.
2. Is cooking with wine healthy?
Cooking with wine can incorporate some health benefits such as – it can help manage diabetes, help improve heart circulation, and reduce inflammation.
3. Does cooking with wine make it alcoholic?
Yes, the dish will be considered alcoholic. However, the amount of alcohol in the dish is so small that it won’t cause any intoxication.
4. Does boiling wine remove alcohol?
You cannot completely remove the alcohol from a dish but you can partially remove the alcohol by cooking it for a longer time. 10% of alcohol decreases when you cook a dish for 30 minutes successively.
5. Does the quality of the wine affect cooking?
The quality of the wine will not affect the cooking, as the majority of the alcohol is lost with the flavors of other ingredients in the preparation of the cuisine.
6. Is it ok to drink ‘cooking wine’?
Generally, there’s no problem in drinking ‘cooking wine’, but it’s not recommended. Also, it can be extremely salty to taste and has a higher alcohol content.
7. Does ‘cooking wine’ expire?
Yes, ‘cooking wine’ will expire over time. So, the bottle should come with an expiry date.
8. What is the best cooking wine?
Some of the good options for cooking wine are Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel.
9. Which is the most expensive wine in the world?
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti 1945 is the most expensive wine in the world, costing over $558,000.
