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any Egyptian; beer is good! Not only good, but a basic staple
along with bread, fruits, nuts, lamb, fried grasshopper and
crocodile steaks. Egyptians ought to know, they claim to have
invented the first sophisticated brews some 5000 years ago,
although written records of beer making traditions can be traced
back six to nine thousand years ago. Whether using barley or
wheat in the Middle East, corn in the Americas, rice in Asia,
millet or sorghum in Africa, the brew masters of ancient civilizations
created some type of suds that are related to what we today
call "brewski." The Sumerians even had a goddess of
beer named Ninkasi, "the lady who fills the mouth."
Today we call her "Miss Budweiser." Wherever you are,
beer is near and dear to millions of fans, and it is also great
for-cooking!
When cooking
with beer, you need to know the basics. According to the Bavarian
"Reinheitsgebot," Beer Purity Law of 1516, the only
ingredients in beer should be water, malted barley or wheat,
hops, and yeasts (natural or added). Beer styles today are
endlessly evolving porters, stouts, pale ales, brown ales,
Irish red ales, Belgian triples, etc. All of these styles
are divided into two main categories-ales, which are top fermented
(yeast floats on the top), and lagers, which are bottom fermented
and aged. Monks in the middle ages developed the idea of cold
storing or lagering beer in cool mountain caves, which allowed
the beer to last longer, also mellowing the flavor and improving
the taste. Hops, which is derived from the perennial plant
Humulus Lupulus, adds bitterness and tang to the brew. "Hops
heads" are the fanatics who just can't get enough bitter.
All the
technical info about beer is not imperative when cooking,
but matching styles and historical food combinations is a
good idea. Just as in wine, heavy beers with heavy foods and
lighter ales and lagers with milder foods. There are also
two food matching theories: contrast and complement. In contrast,
beers are chosen that counteract or balance a particular dish,
such as sweeter beer with salty blue cheese. In complement,
beer styles are matched with food styles such as a smoked
Rauchbier with barbecue ribs. Almost all spicy foods such
as Mexican or Thai are perfectly accompanied by crisp lager
beers. With heavy meals containing red meat, rich, dark porters
and oatmeal stouts are excellent. With fish, a pale, dry beer
such as Belgian ale is best.
As a kitchen
ingredient, beer is wholesome, nutritious, promotes digestion,
improves appetite, makes delicious sauces and gravies, and
is great as a marinade and meat tenderizer. Here are some
interesting and appetizing matches to try:
- Sam
Smith Old Tadcaster Derby English Cheddar with ale spices
- New
Castle Brown Ale Add to your favorite chili recipe
- Weinhenstephamer
Bavarian lager Add to your favorite pancake recipe
- Czechvar
lager from the famous Czech Republic Great with potato chips,
fish and chips, smelt and anything salty
P.S. Important,
N.B. drink one glass of beer before attempting any recipes!
Nancy's Beer Potatoes Sautee diced yellow potatoes in vegetable
oil with salt, pepper. Open a bottle of Corona beer, place
next to pan. Knock over beer with right elbow spilling beer
into pan. Continue cooking, drink remainder of beer. Excellent
during tornado warnings! Call the store or e-mail us for other
tasty beer recipes.
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