Everything you need to know about cooking with alcohol

Cooking delicious food is an art. While herbs and spices are the ideal choices for increasing the flavour of any dish. However, alcohol too plays an important role in increasing the flavour of the dishes. Alcohol is a versatile ingredient which can not just tenderize the meat, but add a killer flavour to any dish. Just a fun fact, if you add alcohol in a dish, it adds very few calories to it. Also, scientifically speaking, alcohol bonds with both fat and water molecules, which allows it to carry aromas and flavour. Traditionally, many people believe that it's just wine and beer that can be used to cook the food, but there are so many other liquors that can be used for cooking delicious dishes as well. Here are 6 such alcohols that you can use for making wonderful dishes...

When cooking with alcohol, white wine is the first thing on anyone's mind. White wine is known for its high acidic qualities, which can make any meaty dish amazing. It's best suited for meat recipes but the light meats and not the heavier ones. It lends an excellent layer of aroma and flavour to the dishes and can be used to cook fish, chicken and venison.

When you don't have white wine in your home, always use red wine for cooking. One of the red wine varieties, pinot noir and cabernet are the best choices and are used for cooking heavy red meats like beef and pork. Its mostly used for sauces and topping for the recipes.

This spirit is best suited for sweet dishes and its always best to go for dark or spiced rum. However, when cooking savoury dishes, its always best to for white rum, as it increases the flavour of your dish by mixing in the marinade. For cooking heavier meats like beef and pork, aged and dark rum are mostly used to infuse the right flavours.

Vodka acts as an emulsifier and can bind oil and water easily. Vodka is flavourless and will not overpower any dish and bring a flavour that will be unmatchable. It can be used for baked goods as it makes the crust super-amazing that will melt-in-your-mouth. Vodka also reduces the gluten extent in the baking dough, which ultimately evaporates and doesn't add any flavour of its own.

Just like salt enhances the flavour of any dish, whiskey does the same. It's rarely used for cooking processes but when whiskey is added to any dish it blends just like salt does to any dish, i.e., enhances the flavours.

Beer adds an earthy flavour to any savoury dish, be it a soup or stew. And when its added to any baked good, beer adds a caramelized and nutty flavour. You can never go wrong with beer and it can be added in any cooking technique: marinating, baking, sauces and even deglazing. So, what are waiting for? Go for cooking with alcohols of different kinds and enjoy your food.