{"id":8195,"date":"2020-02-19T06:48:43","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T11:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eatrightpa.org\/?p=8195"},"modified":"2021-10-30T03:37:32","modified_gmt":"2021-10-30T03:37:32","slug":"beer-a-flavorful-ingredient-in-healthy-cooking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/2020\/02\/19\/beer-a-flavorful-ingredient-in-healthy-cooking\/","title":{"rendered":"Beer: A Flavorful Ingredient in Healthy Cooking"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By: Libby Mills\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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You don\u2019t have to drink craft beer to know that its loaded with flavor.\u00a0 But have you ever wondered how that flavor might play out in your next salsa, flat bread or roasted carrot soup?<\/em><\/p>\n

The skillet is hot; the onions, garlic and maybe peppers are golden, the optional meat is seared and lovely golden-brown caramelized bits cling to the bottom cook surface.\u00a0 We think nothing of adding a splash of wine to lift the rich flavors\u2026Glug, glug from the bottle, and we feel like Jacques Papin<\/a> or Julia Childs<\/a> or maybe Giada De Laurentiis<\/a> from the next generation.<\/p>\n

As the brown frond bubbles off the skillet bottom, we know with certainty that the flavor will make the dish.\u00a0 We may take this important cooking step for granted, but it is the step that builds and intensifies flavor without needing extra fat or more salt.<\/p>\n

But cooking with beer feels more like whimsy, lacking the elegance of wine.\u00a0 One may be cooking and sipping a beer, when a lightbulb of \u201cwhy not?\u201d and \u201ctee-hee\u201d inspire the creative protagonist in you to splash in a drizzle or two.<\/p>\n

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In the moment of \u201csplshhh!!!\u201d with steam mushrooming from the pan, you feel a little rogue, spontaneous, even bad-ass in a world full of wining cooks.<\/p>\n

And then with certainty of your culinary prowess, you taste the foundation of your sauce and your confidence is horrified by an over whelming bitter taste of hops. Tail between your legs, you face a common miscalculation in the behavior of beer when exposed to heat.<\/p>\n

How could your buddy, beer, become your antagonist?<\/p>\n

First of all, using beer in healthy cooking is a flavorful idea!\u00a0 Yes, it adds bitterness and acidity from the hops.\u00a0 But the malty sweetness in beer can counter-balance the bitter\u2026up to a point.<\/p>\n

It helps to know a thing or two about the beer.\u00a0 Each style of beer has it\u2019s own characteristics. A lager will be crisps and dry while an ale more smooth with hints of fruit, herbs or spice. Stouts will be dark with heavier malt, cocoa and coffee flavors.\u00a0\u00a0 Then add the craft-factor that introduces peppers, ginger, peanut, coconut and bubblegum flavors to beer and it\u2019s clear that you\u2019ve got to taste your beer.<\/p>\n

On a local level– always the MOST fun, you won\u2019t want to miss a Reception and Networking Event<\/a> for dietitians hosted by the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics<\/a> at Maggiano\u2019s King of Prussia from 4:30-7:00 pm.\u00a0 The event raises money for PAND-PAC<\/a> and is the perfect place for you and your buds to test out your beer and food tasting!\u00a0\u00a0 And there will be a wine and BEER pull with emphasis on PA BEERS<\/a>.\u00a0 Best of all, tickets to the reception are 50% off for those attending the Annual Meeting Exhibition Conference (AME)<\/a> Friday March 27, 2020 from 7am-4:00 pm at the Crowne Plaza King of Prussia (6 CEU credits).<\/p>\n

BTW, if you haven\u2019t signed up yet, you will after checking out the MUST SEE speakers including Patricia Davidson, DCN, RDN, CDE, LDN, FAND<\/a> presenting Personalized Nutrition Based on the Gut Microbiome<\/strong> and Lauren Pincus MS, RDN<\/a>, presenting The Low FODMAP for IBS<\/strong> from Evidence to Implementation.<\/p>\n

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To help with your tasting experience, you can download my Beer Notes tasting form posted on my website digineatup.com<\/a> for free.\u00a0 Let\u2019s face it, trying to remember what you tasted in a beer an hour later, can be sketchy and the next day virtually impossible unless you write it down.\u00a0 And your notes are key to guiding through the creative use of beer in healthy cooking.<\/p>\n

While there are no rules beyond your personal preferences, here are a few tips to better assure a success.<\/p>\n