Coffee is one of the most underrated ingredients in coffee, and many people don’t realize how great it can be in a wide variety of dishes and applications. Here are a few reasons why you should use coffee in your cooking and a few ways to incorporate it more.
Increase the Depth of Flavor
Firstly, coffee can increase the depth of flavor in many dishes. The rich, bitter flavor of coffee, that also often has smoky undertones, pairs well with many different flavors, especially in dishes that require long cooking times, such as in stews, chili, or soups.
You also don’t need to do much more than switch on your capsule coffee machine, make a shot of espresso, and throw it into your stew; it’s as easy as that.
Adds Umami
Umami is one of the five basic tastes and is described as a rich, savory meatiness that can be found in ingredients like tomato, and in dishes such as ramen and miso soup. It is fairly hard to describe with words, but it is something you have most certainly experienced.
With its bold flavor, depth, and richness, coffee is the ideal ingredient for adding more umami to your dishes. The best part is that this applies to both meat and vegetarian dishes, as coffee is also an ideal accompaniment to many types of roasted vegetables.
Can Provide Balance
It’s fairly well-known that coffee is popular in the world of sweet dishes and baking, and while it adds great flavor, it also provides a useful counterbalance to sweet desserts. Once again, the bitter and acidic flavor of coffee balances sweetness, instead of overpowering it.
This is common in chocolate cakes, and you will often find a chocolate cake that contains coffee; it will even out the sweetness of the cake, but more often than not, you won’t even taste it.
Coffee & Chocolate
Speaking of coffee and chocolate cake, this is a match made in heaven. Whether it be cake, cookies, brownies, or chocolate sauce, coffee is the secret ingredient you need to take all these things to the next level.
Coffee accentuates the flavor and taste of the chocolate without adding additional sweetness and can also make even the most basic chocolate dish taste and feel more rich.
It’s a Dynamic Ingredient
Finally, you should use coffee in your cooking because it is an extremely dynamic ingredient. It is great for both sweet and savory dishes, can be used in sauces, can be used as a rub for meat, and can be a strong and robust base flavor, or a subtle addition to almost anything; not to mention the multiple types of drinks it can be used in.
How to Use Coffee in Dishes
Now that you know why you should be using more coffee in your cooking, here are a few unique and simple ways to incorporate it more.
Coffee Butter
Coffee butter is a brilliant way to get more coffee into a multitude of dishes. You can decide on the strength, but a shot of espresso mixed in with your favorite butter can be used in both sweet and savory dishes.
You can scoop some onto fresh pancakes, or throw a knob of it into a hot pan and cook a steak with it, giving the meat the rich, nutty flavor of the butter, with the slightly acidic punch of the coffee.
Spice Rubs
As mentioned, coffee and meat is a brilliant combination, and adding a teaspoon or two into your spice rubs can add another dimension to the flavors. The best part? Coffee-based rubs pair well with all red meats.
It is particularly useful in barbecues, such as adding coffee to rubs that include sugar, as it can give you that smoky flavor without making the meat too bitter.
Smoking
Speaking of barbecuing, you can do something even easier and sprinkle a few tablespoons of coffee directly onto the hot coals. It can add a deep, smoky flavor to the meat, without a lot of the additional taste. This is ideal for those who aren’t necessarily a fan of coffee, but want that additional layer of flavor.
Meat Tenderizer
The acidity in coffee makes it the ideal ingredient for tenderizing meat while still imparting its delicious taste. Add it to a marinade and allow it to work its magic as it breaks down the proteins in the meat and can make even the toughest cuts tender.
Add it to Sauces
For sauces, there are two ways you can go about including coffee. First off, you can make a strong or weak shot of espresso and use it to replace cooking liquid and cook it down into a sauce, or add it into a gravy for more umami.
You can also sprinkle espresso or coffee powder into a sauce for a richer and stronger flavor, especially in meat dishes with a sauce such as bolognese, chili, stew, or something similar.
In conclusion, don’t stop at just drinking your coffee when there is a wide world of possibilities when it comes to cooking. If none of the methods above appeal to you, you can easily experiment with coffee and find what works best for you and your family.
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