Our editors at Taste of Home love to add a little vavoom to their sauces by adding a splash of wine. In the February/March issue, Food Editor, Karen Berner, shares her secrets to make an ordinary sauce extraordinary. Here’s a little taste of what a splash of wine can do for you!
Alcohol is a background ingredient, not the main flavor. Simmer wine slowly to mellow the taste of alcohol.
Most sauces using wine require reducing it. This eliminates some of the alcohol while concentrating the flavors by cooking the liquid down. Be careful, though. If it reduces too much, the wine flavor vanishes and the sauce can become acidic.
Make sure to watch the clock. A cup of wine will reduce to about 1/4 cup in 10 minutes.
Add any cream, stocks or broths after the wine is reduced. Voila! You have a flavorful sauce-and-wine pairing.
Red or white? Take your pick because wither type of wine works when reducing, even in recipes like our Chicken Marsala with Gorgonzola.
Don’t forget the brown bits! You can easily unlock stellar sauces and gravies with a splash of wine and a scrape of the pan.
Get more great tips and tricks from our food experts by visiting our How To section!
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