Tag: Gastronomy

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#52Drinks52Weeks – Kombucha

The ‘hipster’ home-brewed probiotic tea drink, Kombucha, is what we are exploring this time. It is sexy, healthy, curative, and gastronomic too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1ApIsCE1tk&t=87s

Kombucha is a fermented and sweetened tea often made with black or green tea. It is largely classified as a functional beverage, meaning that it is a non-alcoholic drink that contains vitamins, amino acids or other nutrients associated with health benefits. The process of preparing kombucha can vary but generally involves a double fermentation process wherein a SCOBY (a pancake-shaped symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) aka mother aka mushroom is placed in a sweetened tea mixture and left to ferment at room temperature for 1-3 weeks, and then bottled for 1-2 weeks to contain released CO2 and encourage carbonation.

ORIGINS

The exact origin of kombucha is uncertain, though it likely originated in China and spread with tea along the Silk Road. However, it is believed that Kombucha originated in Northeast China (historically referred to as Manchuria) around 220 B.C. and was initially prized for its healing properties. Its name is reportedly derived from Dr. Kombu, a Korean physician who brought the fermented tea to Japan as a curative for Emperor Inkyo. Eventually the tea was brought to Europe as a result of trade route expansions in the early 20th century, most notably appearing in Russia (as “Kambucha”) and Germany (as “Kombuchaschwamm”). Despite a dip in international popularity during WWII due to the shortage of tea and sugar supplies, kombucha regained popularity following a 1960s study in Switzerland comparing its health benefits to those of yogurt.

POPULARITY

Initial popularity was due in part to consumers who believed that the beverage was a powerful health aid for serious medical conditions. It is widely brewed in parts of eastern Europe, particularly in rural Russia, and is common in China, Japan, and Korea. Studies conducted through 2010 suggested that the health benefit anecdotes associated with kombucha have occasionally been overblown by the media and industry figureheads. the beverage contains similar benefits to plain tea and fermented foods, including probiotic benefits that encourage gut bacteria diversity and aid digestion.

MEDICINAL VALUES

In the United States kombucha initially gained popularity during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the late 1980s and early ’90s, as it was hoped that the drink could increase T-cell counts and support compromised immune systems. However, it fell out of favour following a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1995 that linked the drink to two cases of severe metabolic acidosis, one of which was fatal. With greater awareness of probiotics and the possible health benefits of fermented foods, it resurged as a health product in the early 21st century, and home-brewing kits and commercial brews were soon readily available in many places.

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Blog TippleTalk

#TippleTalk – The Cheese Wheel

No story of wine will ever be considered complete without a reference to cheese. So intricately linked do the two appear that in most social settings, one is rarely uttered without alluding to the other. And yet, wine and cheese has a lot of myths which are unquestionably accepted when they in fact need to be outright discarded. Let’s try and she light on some of them today. But before we do that a quick round up of the world of cheeses. Suffice to say that it is a vast one indeed. The same cow and the same milk when treated the same way but in two different zones can yield two entirely different types of cheese with very different flavours. In France alone there are more than 360 varieties of cheese which means one for every day of the year so variety is clearly not an issue. This is why provenance has a big role to play here. Once we start accounting for the rest of the world with their own inherent cheese production methods, one lifetime is hardly enough to try them all.One basic classification of cheeses categorises them as follows:

  1. Fresh: Mozarella, Fromage Blanc
  2. Soft: Brie
  3. Semi-soft: Munster
  4. Semi-Hard: Cheddar
  5. Hard: Parmesan
  6. Veined: Blue Stilton

But this isn’t the only way to go for cheese can also be classified by (a) milk source (cow/goat/sheep) (b) by covering (wax/ash/rind/powdery/salt-washed) (c) use (table cheese/cooking cheese/ topping) and a few others. Suffice to say that you need to taste them before you decide how to utilise them, and pair them!And now, without further ado, some myths, busted!

The Cheese Knife

Different types of knives for different cheeses

In France the cheese course comes with a cheese knife and bread. One is supposed to use the knife to cut and place the cheese onto the bread or crackers and then eaten. In the US, a fork is also kept on the cover as people often eat cheese like they would a steak. Personally I find this rather odd and not half as satisfying as having cheese with a carb-centric base.

The Pairing

Cheese and Wine pairing

Pairings with cheese change like fashion trends – it used to be reds, then it became whites, then it was red Port, then white Port, then came Sherry, and now…frankly I don’t know what’s in now? But here’s the thing, try the cheese and try what you wish to serve alongside, doesn’t matter whether it’s a Bordeaux red or a Boulvardier, get some people to try and see their reaction.

That consensus is a good sign of how to take things. But please don’t allow yourself to be limited by tradition. I have had champagne with cheese and enjoyed it thoroughly so often you just need to get the right type of cheese and bottle together.

The Timing

Now most social soirées serve wine and cheese as the starter and floating snack that linger through the evening. In a traditional sense this makes no sense as wine and cheese are one course that is part of a meal so why do people jump to it directly. Well, mainly because cheese is rich in umami and once that coats the palate, the effect of wine is less stand-out and distinct. Yes, sounds contrarian to the general wisdom but that’s how it is – ‘Buy on apples but sell on cheese’ is the sommelier’s motto. Unlike having an apple which will cleanse your palate before a tasting, having cheese numbs it to certain defects. Which is another reason why I often question wine and cheese pairing. It’s like taking a driving test during an earthquake and expecting to have consistent results.

Cooking cheeses and processed cheeses aren’t to be paired raw ever. They have different purposes, processed one is frankly rather dispensable in my books. But personal choices aside, if you will be making a cheese tray, prefer artisanal produce with a provenance story over the supermarket stuff. And definitely no processed cheese cubes!

Keep these basics in mind the next time you want to gather some folks and huddle around a drink and bites. 

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Blog Events + Affairs

The Right Spirit: Drinking etiquettes for a soirée

Painting depicting a formal dinner gathering

I have approached this subject many times before, but rarely have I expounded on it with the broad base of drinks in general as the target. It’s usually wine-centric or malt-centric, how to pair and how not to douse in water, and so on. But not just these two, every drink requires a certain civil approach, an unspoken and unwritten code of conduct that not only enhances our enjoyment of the beverage, but also ensures that nobody and nothing is harmed in any manner whatsoever—least of all a spirit or brew, which was patiently made and honed over a period of time in a distant cellar. Without further ado then, here are some drink etiquettes that one would do well to imbibe before one attends or hosts a soirée…

FOOD FIRST

Only a fool drinks on an empty stomach and most Indian parties seem to be geared up as gatherings for imbeciles. We arrive late, starved since lunch, and go on to down copious amounts of alcohol, punishing our innards insensibly and irrevocably. Please ensure that your stomach is well-lined before you touch the first drink. If you are playing host, don’t shy away from serving food at ‘normal o’clock’—your social quotient won’t fall just because you fed people before midnight.

WISDOM OF VOLUME

Even the most seasoned of drinkers can sometimes lose count of how much alcohol has passed their lips and the results can be disastrous—drunk dialling your ex being the least potentially harmful scenario. So count your drinks like ramp models count their calories. A safe zone is two drinks in the first hour and one every subsequent hour.

If that sounds painfully slow, retire and call it a night. Any faster and you are buying yourself a ticket to ‘hangover central’. In certain western countries, this is also a safe way to remain within permissible limits to get behind the wheel. In India, I don’t know if that translates to similarly acceptable.

SIP SMART

Shooting or sculling or simply downing shots of alcohol may seem fun and macho, but it’s neither civil nor enjoyable.

Never gulp a drink. Shooting or sculling or simply downing shots of alcohol may seem fun and macho, but it’s neither civil nor enjoyable.
I have never seen someone shoot back anything and not contort a face of utter disgust—not to mention the nasty looming headache. Tequila is a lovely drink, a national pride for Mexicans. To shoot it down is insulting and ignorant.

Try sipping it once and you will find it can be as hip as gin. That said, following the eastern Asian culture of Kampai (downing whatever is in the glass) as a sign of respect and machismo is about as crude as the dog meat festival. It’s time we upgraded such traditions to be more gentrified.

CATERING TO CONSTITUTIONS

Not everyone can handle as much drink as others and it may be a smart idea to keep a contingency plan for those who risk getting light-headed. From the usual pills, which promise no hangovers, to an array of probiotics, non-alcoholic juices and smoothies, all work as aides to digesting alcohol and taking it out of our system as quickly as possible. I recently received a set of pills, which promised that I would wake up bright and crisp. I don’t know if the pills worked because I was anyway overtly cautious with my tipple the evening before. That said, a big glass of water between two drinks is perhaps the safest way to waking up fresh as a flower.

MIXING

A drink isn’t just about the high it delivers, it’s about the high you get from enjoying a lovely beverage with people you wish to engage with.

This is a contra-myth, one that needs undoing. There is no harm in mixing your alcohols. I go from malt to wine to gin all in one evening and without any side effects. The trick is to pace yourself and hydrate constantly. The essence of alcohol lies in enjoying its variety, the various flavours and textures that it extends to us. To confine yourself is to miss the point entirely of drinking in the first place. A drink isn’t just about the high it delivers, it’s about the high you get from enjoying a lovely beverage with people you wish to engage with.

If I am sounding too old and preachy, then I guess it is because I am getting close to the years when Happy birthday songs are replaced with For he’s jolly good fellow… So don’t let me get in the way of you and your good time. Enjoy yourself, but if you can fall back on any of these tips even mildly, you will see why you don’t have to consider giving up alcohol the next morning when you wake up with that massive hangover.

The writer is a sommelier

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Blog Events + Affairs

Five Basic Caveats While Pairing Indian Food and Wine

The way one eats Indian food can also influence the pairing. The ideal way is to eat everything with either rice or some sort of bread.

The thing about pairing food and wine is that it’s a highly subjective exercise. Any such endeavour is liable to yield as many opinions as there are people present in a room. And when the cuisine happens to be Indian, the possibilities and permutations can seem even further endless. Nevertheless, here are five basic caveats while pairing Indian food and wine:

Cuisines with an ‘s’

India is a vast country. Each state is an entirely different demographic—from the language spoken to the clothes worn, from the traditions and customs practiced to the food locally grown and consumed. Each state in this subcontinent has one, if not two completely different cuisines. From the coast to the inland, the tropics to the foothills of the Himalayas, the ingredients and preparations thereof change drastically. To, therefore, pair wine with ‘Indian cuisine’ as a singular unified entity is too general a statement to hold any water. So, first and foremost, next time someone tells you about their Indian meal, ask them what specific cuisine could they be referring to.

Styles, spices and skills is what it takes to make Indian dishes

Not just the main ingredient

The whole ‘white wine with white meat’ theory was highly erroneous to begin with. When applied to our cuisines, it is further flawed, as the main ingredient in our dishes doesn’t define how the overall dish will turn out. A simple ingredient like prawns can be served mildly spiced in a moilee curry, where a white wine would sit well besides, but the same seafood could take on stronger flavours in a Chettinad-style preparation. The lamb can be delicate when minced and prepared keema-style or rich like in a rogan josh. It’s never about what the main ingredient is, more about how it’s cooked. The accompanying sauce or curry and the spices used to prepare it are more important pointers as to what can pair with a dish.

Rule breaking

No formal rules apply to the wine order to be deployed with an Indian meal.

Whites need not always start a meal, reds needn’t always follow. A sparkling rosé can turn out to be a great match for the main course. In other words, no formal rules apply to the wine order to be deployed with an Indian meal. If the kebabs come first, start with the rich reds, follow it up with generous whites as the curries come along. Finish with a sweet Muscat alongside the desserts. Order is too staid for something as diverse as Indian food.

The eating process

The ideal way is to eat everything with either rice or some sort of bread.

The way one eats Indian food can also influence the pairing. The ideal way is to eat everything with either rice or some sort of bread. This helps tone down the spices a bit, thereby making everything a lot more amenable to paring with wine.

But start spooning a curry directly into your mouth and, suddenly, the palate feels as if it has been set aflame. So, for a proper pairing experience, it’s essential to eat food the ‘Indian way’: with hands and always with bread or rice mixed with the lentil (dal) or vegetable (subji) preparation.

Holistic pairing

Ideally, an Indian meal isn’t eaten in courses, so it can get a bit daunting to try and pair a wine with every dish. Nobody would like to have five glasses set out in front of them with each one specifically meant to pair with only one dish on the thaali. So, it’s always better to follow a path of means. Otherwise put, stick to rich lush whites and fruity yet structured reds, and you can’t really go wrong. So oily Chardonnays—from Australia to Chile, California to Chassagne-Montrachet—they all work very well.

And for reds, it could be Blaufrankisch from Austria, Pinot from New Zealand and Oregon, or Malbec from Argentina. Reserve the rich Shiraz and Cabernet cache for the kebabs. Contrary to western belief, Gewurztraminer isn’t the only aromatic grape that can be deployed with spicy food. Grüner Veltliner, Alvariño, Torrontes and Riesling work much better, but they should never be too sweet. And sparkling wine is always a great versatile pairing for most Indian cuisines.

All this tackled, you are now on your way to enjoy a sublime wine and food experience, not one to be compared with what the West has to offer, but instead, something decidedly different and varied. Cheers!

The writer is a sommelier