Choosing between sweet wine and dry wine Which wine goes well with which type of food Enhancing food flavours with wine which food is better with wine Tips for Cooking with Wine

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	6 Tips for Cooking with Wine It's time to raise a toast to this flavourful healthy ingredient- Wine! Ever so often we end...

It's time to raise a toast to this flavourful healthy ingredient- Wine! Ever so often we end up with plenty of wine at home, either due to some seasonal discount, or lots of gift baskets from festive season. How about trying something new with it this time? How about using some of that wine in your cooking, where the key remains being healthy? Here's looking at six healthy ways in which you can cook with wine, and bring something new to your family's dinner table tonight...

1. Enhancing food flavours with wine: When cooking with the following foods, wine (red or white, as mentioned) will help bring out each ingredient's subtle flavours-

• Red Wine: Peaches, chocolate, cherries, coffee, oranges, berries and plums
• White Wine: mushrooms, citrus, caramel, pineapple, melon, olives and apple.

2. Which wine goes well with which type of food? By and large, the thumbrule remains - A light-flavoured white wine goes well with mild dishes such as chicken, shellfish, ham, veal, turkey and fish and bold-tasting wine red wine goes well with bold flavoured dishes such as beef, goose, pasta dishes, pork and duck.

3. Acids in wine: 'Acid' refers to the sharp edgy flavour derived from ingredients like vinegar, lime juice or any other sharp flavour-ers added during the wine making process. It is present in both white and red wines and helps in boosting the mild flavours of the food.

4. Tannins in red wine: 'Tannins' refer to the bitter flavour of the wine. It is mostly found in red wines and goes well with heavy flavoured dishes such as steak. According to experts, tannins also have appetite cleansing abilities when you guzzle it along with high protein foods, but some studies have blamed hangover headaches to the tannins in red wine - so it might just be a double-edged sword.

5. Choosing between sweet wine and dry wine: Sweet wine usually involves large amounts of sugar in its natural form which is derived from grapes. On the other hand, dry wine is higher in alcoholic content and has less sugar content when compared to sweet wine. So, go for sweet wine or dry wine depending upon the flavour you want to be enhanced in your dish.

6. Be Innovative with wine! The trick lies in being innovative. Use wine for marinades, as it helps tenderise meat and adds its dense flavours to the dish at hand. Wine also helps keep seafood and meat moist when you cook them. Add wine to your slow simmering foods or microwave dishes to enhance flavour, and bring out the simple tastes that otherwise get hidden when using regular cooking methods and marinades.