Thursday, September 6, 2007
Wine doesn't only make an exceptional complement to you meal, it can also be used to cook up an exceptional meal itself!
Other types of rack include compact designs to fit on a counter top, or stackable towers to place on the floor, whose capacity can grow to meet your storage needs. Wooden wine racks are very popular, made from all sorts of wood, including pine, oak or mahogany. For a more contemporary look, a metal wine rack can be an attractive feature in itself, made from ornately crafted iron, stainless steel, chrome or aluminum. Whatever the style of your décor, there's sure to be a wine rack design that fits in perfectly and provides you with a functional way to organize your wine collection.
No respectable chef would ever allow his or her kitchen to run out of wine for cooking. Wine is an integral part of French and Chinese cooking, and is also the basis for good marinating and barbeques. It finds good company in the kitchen with vinegar, fish paste, and soy sauce which all lend a tangy flavor to all sorts of dishes.
Many are tentative to using wine in cooking because of the many questions they may have. Here are a few answers to the questions that most people want to know when using wine in cooking.
1. Does wine quality affect your cooking?
Whether you use normal wine or a quality wine for your cooking doesn't make a difference in the flavor of your dishes. Save your quality wine instead for sipping and use the regular wine for cooking.
2. I’m worried about whether the wine can make me or my kids tipsy
It depends on how you cook your dishes. Alcohol in the wine evaporates at 172 degrees. Also you will never add too much wine to any dish, so it is very unlikely that any wine fortified dish can make you tipsy. This allows anyone – even those that do not drink wine for religious and personal reasons – to use it in their cooking.
3. I’m afraid I might put too much wine in my dishes. Will it ruin its flavor?
You will have to proceed carefully when working with wine as it adds a powerful flavor to any dish. You will generally want to follow recipes until you get the hang of using wine. You will then be able to add or lessen the wine you use for a certain recipe.
Make sure you allow the wine to cook a bit before adding more to a dish. It usually takes 10 minutes for it to exhibit its full flavor. Less is more when initially experimenting with wine.
4. What is the difference between cooking wine and regular wine?
Cooking wine has salt and chemicals added which make them unfit for drinking. While it is reported to be better for cooking, you will want to steer clear of using this unless the recipe specifically calls for it. This will probably be done most often in Chinese recipes.
About The Author:
Learn the art of wine tasting at http://www.wine-city.info
What To Know About Port Wines
Port wine is amongst the worlds most refined and sought after alcoholic drinks. It has a century-old tradition to legitimise its unique quality. The wine is one of Portugal’s finest products and a major cause for the countries reputation. The inhabitants of northern Portugal’s Douro valley have perfected their techniques for nearly two millennia, as the archaeological discoveries indicate. The exquisite wine was first sold on a large scale in the city of Porto. The reason for which it reached England was its early 18th century war with France. Being deprived of French wines, the islanders saw Portugal as a replacement. English ships often took home quantities of Port wine; their legacy resides in the names of some port shippers with a strong English resonance.
Although the term “Port” refers to wines produced in countries like Australia, USA, South Africa and India as well, the authentic Port has Portuguese roots. In the EU, Porto may be the name only of wines originating from Portugal. The “Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto” imposes a strict control on the Portugese wine industry.
The production of Port is precisely calculated at each step. The amount of distilled grape spirits (like brandy) is responsible for its higher alcohol percentage. These spirits were first used because wines tended to decay on their journeys to distant lands. Wines with more than 16% alcohol are safer from damaging than those with less. The ones above 18% can be stored in wood casks which allow air inside.
Port wines come in a great variety. To classify them easier, experts have appealed to basic criteria: the presence or lack of “breathing”. Some wines are utterly ceiled while transported, so they are untouched by air. Others are safe for oxygenating, for so they will undergo the oxidative fine aging process. The ones from the latter category change their color faster and are left to healthy mature in wooden barrels. For this they are called “wood ports” sometimes.
The wine of the greatest quality is named “Vintage Part”. Although the finest, it is also amongst the rarest kinds produced. The time necessary for it to reach the perfect quality is long, it is known to require two and a half years in barrels, before left waiting 10-30 years in bottles. Its dark ruby pattern makes it sought after. They are only produced from grapes grown in what is called a vintage year, when the conditions are the best.
The traditional Tawny Port wines are either white or red and spend no time at all in barrels. Others, such as the Tawny Reserve port are left to interact with air for some time there and this results in a golden-brown spectrum. The Tawny categories are set after the age of wines. The Garraferia wines, labelled only by the Niepoort Company are stored first in barrels for seven years, than they lay in demijohns for another 8 years.
The Late Bottled Vintage derives from Vintage Ports that have been left in barrels longer than they should have. They can be consumed without decanting yet some experts believe this diminishes their quality.
The Clustered wine is similar to Vintage Port, though drinkable at a younger age. The Ruby Port is cheap and isolated in stainless steel before consumption. The white port is usually served cold and is made from white grapes.
If the cork has a plastic cap the wine should not be decanted, only the ones with plastic cork must be. In order to decant some wines a corkscrew and a specially adapted funnel is all that’s needed. The time a wine needs to be decanted depends on its age; the older need less time. The decantation process must be slow, with extreme patience.
The Red Port is obtained from special types of local grapes, while the White Porto is strictly controlled by the “Instituto do Vinho do Porto”. The name for vineyard in Portugal is Quinta. It appears that the future weather conditions will offer Vintage Ports more often.
Opportunities And Challenges In Indian Food Processing Sector
India is the second largest food producer in the world after China. It's estimated that food-processing industry in India will double up over the next decade. Also, huge investment opportunities exist in the food processing technology, and equipments industry, particularly in the areas of Dairy & Food Processing, Canning, Packaging, Thermo Processing, Frozen Food or Refrigeration, and Specialty Processing.
Indian food processing sector is among the largest sectors in terms of production, consumption, export and growth prospects. Also, the government of India has made the commercialization of the country's food processing sector the first priority, with various fiscal incentives. So, there's a vast scope for the companies willing to invest in the food processing & packaging sector- a sector that's growing 15%-20% annually. Increased literacy rate, change in lifestyle, and mass media promotion are amongst the major contributors to the growing demand of processed food in the country.
One of the major challenges before the food processing industry in India, currently, is the lack of proper infrastructure. Only two percent of agricultural produce is estimated to be preserved for processing in India, currently, due to the lack of storage facilities. While in US, the about seventy percent of agricultural produce is processed at present.
According to many industry experts, Indian food processing industry is a sleeping giant and government initiatives will definitely encourage the rapid growth in this sector.
For further information about Indian Food Industry please read the report "Food Processing Market in India (2005)" published by RNCOS http://www.rncos.com/Report/FB15.htm
RNCOS is an industry leader in the field of online business research. We specialize in industry research on various business verticals. To read our other reports, please visit us at http://www.rncos.com/Report.htm or email us at info@rncos.com
To get the latest news on Food Processing Market & Its Growth potential, visit our newly launched Blog section at http://www.rncos.com/Blog/food.html
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