Learning to Cook with Tea
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As we study the advantages of tea it is growing more popular, but not just as a beverage. Tea is also gaining popularity as a spice for cooks. You might recollect a similar thing happening a couple of years ago during the time when coffee irrupted as a stylish beverage.
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 chefs are improving these uses of tea and learning that even simple additions can lend a richness to recipes without overpowering the natural flavor of the dish. For instance try adding a tablespoon of English Breakfast to a salad dressing, or a Jasmine teabag to rice while it’s cooking.
Cooking with tea doesn’t have to be limited to the appetizer or main course. Tea can also lend a complex taste to dessert. Rich black teas like Darjeeling have deep tones that help strengthen the flavor of chocolate desserts. Green teas are able to add a zing to creamy desserts while they also tend to calm the tart flavor of a citrus sorbet. While fragrant teas like chai are able to impart a pleasant flavor to rich items like frosting or cheesecake.
You can get creative when cooking with tea. It can be used as a spice by adding tea leaves to a pepper grinder; you may want to try adding white pepper, or another spice of choice along with the tea in the pepper grinder. It can also be used as a marinade. But if you’re not sure where to start, or if you want a little guidance, check out one of the many cookbooks that specialize in cooking with tea.
If you’re just beginning to use tea in your cooking it may help if you think of the tea as another ingredient or a spice, instead of a beverage, and go with your instincts. Also remember all the forms of tea — you can utilize tea leaves, brewed tea, tea bags or if you enjoy green tea you can use green tea powder to sprinkle on things like fruit. There are also all the varieties to select from — Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Matcha, Bancha — to name a few.
So get creative and enjoy the benefit of this whole new world of flavorings. Happy Cooking
