Wines, beers, and spirits have long been enjoyed as beverages, but they have taken on a new role as flavoring ingredients in cooking and baking. Although some countries have used them liberally in the past, they are now used in many traditional and non-traditional cuisines and culinary applications throughout the world.

The cook does not have to be a bartender or wine steward to use these drinks properly in the kitchen. A basic understanding of the types of beverages and the flavors that dominate them is an important aspect of modern nutritional cooking.

Alcoholic beverages provide another way to enhance the flavor of food. Although most people think of alcoholic beverages just as beverages, professional chefs use them to impart unique flavors to cooked foods or pastries.

Many different types of alcoholic beverages can be used to flavor foods and cakes before, during, and after cooking or baking. Wines, beers, ales, brandies and various spirits have been used for centuries to flavor some of the most common and exotic foods and cakes.

Alcoholic beverages represent part of a full spectrum of flavors that can blend with or overpower the flavors of any particular dish and can lend character to the final presentation. When enhancing the flavors of foods, chefs cannot overlook the versatility provided by the use of these liquid flavor enhancers.

The history of wines and beers is as old as written history itself. How they were discovered and when they were first used may never be known, but they have often been the subject of speculation. Humans have enjoyed the spirit of these drinks for thousands of years. As cooking and baking developed, so did the use of these natural flavor enhancers. Brandies and liqueurs can give extraordinary distinction to otherwise simple tastes. These liquids can impart character and emotion to the simplest preparations without fat or other components that are harmful to health.

Not only do wines, beers, spirits, and liqueurs impart flavor to food, but many can add to the nutritional value of a finished product. Alcohol by itself adds no nutritional value to the human diet (and is usually reduced or removed by evaporation during cooking or baking), but alcohol-containing beverages can contribute nutrition.

Some wines contain potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron. Most other wines aid in the absorption of these minerals, as well as zinc, when they are part of a meal. Researchers are investigating any correlation between moderate wine consumption and a healthy level of high-density lipoproteins (HDL, or “good” cholesterol) in the bloodstream. If true, then moderate wine consumption (one or two glasses per day) may play a role in reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The beers contain trace amounts of protein or amino acids, fats, and some B vitamins, which remain in the bottle or can form the yeast used in the fermentation process. The liqueurs are often flavored with essences of herbs and spices and were originally created as medicinal cures. Its contribution to health can be argued but not totally denied.

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