by Sarah Flemming
As tea becomes more and more popular cooks are beginning to use it more too, as a way to add a new flavor to dishes. A similar thing happened with coffee when Starbucks helped the already well-liked beverage become even more popular.
Tea goes well with food so it feels like a natural step to start utilizing it as a flavor-enhancer, the same way we utilize herbs and spices. And there are other great reasons for the enhanced interest in cooking involving tea.
With the many known health advantages of tea any new way to slip it into your daily routine is advantageous. Another advantage of cooking with tea is that it’s an effective way to add or enhance the flavor of a dish without adding unwanted elements like fat, calories or sodium, that sometimes accompany other flavor amplifiers.
Although cooking with tea may seem like a new trend, it has actually been around almost as long as the beverage itself. The British have used tea to flavor tea cakes and to stew dried fruit for years. The Japanese have been enjoying ochazuke, which is made by pouring green tea over rice before serving. And the Chinese have been using black tea to smoke and simmer foods for centuries.
Popular cooks have been expanding these uses of tea and finding that even small additions are able to lend a richness to dishes without overwhelming the true flavor of the dish. For example try adding a tablespoon of English Breakfast to a dressing, or a Jasmine teabag or two to rice while it is cooking.
Cooking with tea doesn’t have to be restricted to the appetizer or main course. Tea can also add a complex taste to dessert. Rich black teas like Darjeeling and English Breakfast have deep tones that help strengthen the flavor of chocolate desserts. Green teas can add a zing to creamy desserts while they also tend to smooth the tart flavor of a citrus sorbet. And aromatic teas like chai can add a nice flavor to rich, heavier items like frosting or cheesecake.
You can let the creative juices flow when preparing food with tea. It may be applied as a spice by adding tea leaves to a pepper grinder; you might even want to add white pepper, or some other spice of choice with the tea in the spice grinder. Tea can also be used as a marinade. If you’re not sure where to begin, or if you need a little guidance, check out a cookbook that specializes in cooking with tea.
If you’re just starting to use tea in your cooking it may help to think of the tea as an ingredient or a spice, instead of a beverage, and go with your instincts. Also don’t forget about all the forms of tea — you can use tea leaves, brewed tea, tea bags or if you like green tea you can use matcha green tea powder to sprinkle on things like fruit. Then there are all the varieties — Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Gunpowder, Sencha.
So get creative and enjoy the benefit of this whole new world of flavorings. Happy Cooking
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