Wines not only fulfil their function of pairing the dishes we taste , but also form part of them, becoming an ingredient in many culinary formulas.
And beyond being an ancient drink, it must be said that wine is a food that has accompanied man throughout his existence to celebrate exploits and to forget defeats, to nourish the body and the soul.
Wine is a food
The products provided by the land condition the cuisine of the cultures that settle on it, and wine has always been an essential part of the gastronomy of all civilisations. Blood of the earth, food of the gods... and of mortals, because nowadays we cannot conceive of gastronomy without wine in our society.
According to the Spanish Food Code, this drink is considered a foodstuff, as it is a liquid, vegetable product and is processed. It is also a foodstuff because of its characteristics, its components, its preparation and its state of preservation.
Sugar, alcohol and mineral salts make it a calorie-producing food due to the energy provided by its components.
It also has a large amount of vitamins that are found in the must and are transmitted to the wine, providing it with a large amount of nutrients and elements necessary for life.
Vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, biotin, cobalamin and others are present in red wine.
Cooking with wine
Wine is a great ally of gastronomy , as it is a product capable of turning the most common dish into an excellent delicacy. As an ingredient, it is excellent because it does not contain cholesterol, fats, alcohol or calories and gives a tasty flavour to the dishes prepared with it.
Used to caramelise, marinate and combine different flavours, wine works perfectly as a component of sweet and savoury dishes. The way of cooking with wine depends on the dish we are going to make. Only two things need to be taken into account:
- The wine used must be of good quality, otherwise there is a risk of spoiling the food.
- Ethyl alcohol boils at 78.4°C and disappears completely within a few minutes in any type of cooking. Although the heat vaporises the alcohol, its intervention increases the flavour of the wine in the dish.
Cooking with red wine
Almost all stews with meat in Spanish cuisine are resolved with a small glass of wine to add flavour and make the meat more tender.
In the case of meat or poultry stews with red wine , this can be added from the first moment of cooking. In this way, the wine will be used as a cooking liquid and will be reduced until the sauce or meat is just right.
It can also be boiled separately until the wine is reduced to one third and then poured into the stew or sauce.
In case you didn't know, meat or poultry can be marinated in wine before cooking. Vegetables (previously sautéed and boiled in wine and water or broth) can be added to the marinade. After marinating the meat for a couple of days in an earthenware casserole, we will cook our meat with the broth from the marinade.
There are many dishes cooked with red wine. Some examples are big game stews, pork round, trotters, stewed meat, black pudding, chicken, pheasant with oloroso or quails with grapes, among others.
Cooking with white wine
If we have to use white wine for our recipe, it is advisable to choose semi-dry and strong ones, reserving the sweet ones for pastries, creams and cakes.
White wine can be used to cook trout, mackerel, mussels and redondo de añojo... And sherry can be used to cook kidneys, tongue, pork and trout.
It is also used with fish and seafood, although rosé wine can also be added to these. It is cooked with it in the same way as with red wine and the result of fish stews with a good splash of white wine is highly positive.
Recipes with wine
There are many emblematic recipes in which wine is one of the main ingredients. Wine can be used to cook everything from sauces, starters and first courses to meat, fish and desserts.
Below, we will review some of the most popular dishes cooked with wine in Spanish gastronomy:
Recipes with wine in Spanish gastronomy
- Meat and game with red wine:
- Oxtail
- Rioja steak
- Pork round with wine
- Zancarron
- Quails
- Hare stew with plums
- Meat and game with white wine:
- Veal cutlets in white wine
- Pork tenderloin
- Fried chicken
- Rabbit in the hunter's jacket
- Veal kidneys in sherry sauce
- Fish with red wine
- Bonito in red wine sauce
- Anglerfish
- Trout
- Sardines
- Fish and seafood with white wine
- Baked sole with white wine
- Whiting in wine au gratin
- Lamprey in white wine
- Spider crab in white wine
- Clams in sherry
- Fish veloute
- Meat and game with cava
- Fillet of beef with cava
- Pork loin with almonds in cava sauce
- Turkey round with cava
- Parda al cava
- Fish and seafood with cava
- Sole with orange and cava
- Turbot with cava
- Oysters with cava
- Trout in cava with ham and cheese
- Desserts
- Pears in wine
- Wine donuts
- Pestiños
- Wine ice cream with grapes
- Torrijas de pan con vino (French toast with wine)
- Melon with cava
We are sure that there are many recipes left unmentioned, but this repertoire serves as a sample of the universalisation of wine in the kitchen. A recipe book that we Latin peoples inherited from the Romans with its cultivation, its rituals, its production customs, its use in gastronomy and, above all, the establishment of the Wine Culture.
If you are still hungry for more, we recommend that you come to La Rioja for a weekend, visit Vivanco and don't leave without trying their WineCooking menu paired with wines Vivanco, a real treat for your palate. If you want to know all the details of this menu, you can check it here.
