In order to cook with wine you need to know what wine is made of and what will be the effect on certain dishes when wine is used in the cooking process.

Wine is made up of water, grape acids, tannins and alcohol. All of these players, individually and together, affect the final result. Alcohol itself is tasteless, but it affects the release of flavour and fragrance molecules from the other components. It helps fats to dissolve and penetrate the food, bringing out hidden flavours. This is a chemical reaction that “ordinary” liquids, like water or stock, or even fats such as butter or oil cannot achieve. For this reason, when wine is added to the pot it should be allowed to simmer, uncovered, so that the alcohol and some of the volume evaporate. Never add wine at the end of cooking.

When red wine is made, the seeds and the skins are in prolonged contact with the grape juice, so red wine is rich in tannins. White wine is low in tannins because the juice does not come into contact with the skin and seeds during fermentation. Thick-skinned grapes (such as cabernet sauvignon) will result in tannin-rich wine, in contrast to thin-skinned varieties (like merlot).

White wine is low in tannins because the juice does not come into contact with the skin and seeds during fermentation. Thick-skinned grapes (such as cabernet sauvignon) will result in tannin-rich wine, in contrast to thin-skinned varieties (like merlot).

.Reference resource: Click Here.

Most fruit juice and beverages are purely natural products with no or little additives therein. Citrus products such as orange and tangerine juices are very familiar breakfast or “anytime” beverages. Grapefruit juices, pineapple, apple, grape, lime and lemon are all familiar products. Coconut water is a highly nutritious and refreshing juice. Many berries are crushed and their juices mixed with water and sometimes sweetened. Raspberry, blackberry and currants are often popular juices drinks but the percentage of water also determines their nutritive value. Juices were probably humankind’s earliest drinks besides water. Grapes juice that was allowed to ferment produced the alcoholic drink wine.

Fruits are highly perishable and so the ability to create juices and store them was of significant value. Some fruits are highly acidic and mixing them with additional water and sugars or honey was often necessary to make them palatable. Early storage of fruit juices was labor intensive, requiring the crushing of the fruits and the mixing of the resulting pure juices with sugars before bottling and capping them.

Orange juice and coconut water remain by far the most highly consumed juices on the market and are there because of their valuable nutrients and hydration abilities.

Chocolate is manufactured from the cocoa products (nib, mass, cocoa and butter) together with sugar and other ingredients according to type.

.Reference resource: Click Here.