History of Men's Accessories by Nicholas Storey

Author:Nicholas Storey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Social History
Publisher: Pen & Sword
Published: 2011-03-18T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 5

Matching Food and Drink

As founder of the Wine and Food Society André Simon said:

Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost; united and well-matched, they are as body and soul, living partners.

Apart from the things that I have already said about it, it seems appropriate to make a little more mention of matching food and drink but, this time, mainly food and wine. In a reasonably logical order, here are a few ideas:

Caviar

Traditionally, in Russia, this is eaten, on blinis, with a chilled vodka accompaniment, although in western Europe often champagne is drunk instead. Proper caviar is the roe of the primitive sturgeon fish, of which there are twenty-five species worldwide. The best comes from the Black and Caspian seas. There is Beluga (Huso huso), which can live for up to 150 years. This has the largest eggs, ranging in colour from dark (Royal Beluga) to lighter (Royal Pearl) and is the most expensive caviar normally available. Then there is Oscietra (Acipenser persicus/gueldenstaedtii and nudiventris), which can live for about fifty years. The golden type of this is very rare and costly (more so than Beluga) and is called Imperial caviar. Sevruga (Acipenser stellatus), can live for thirty years and yields the smallest eggs.

Escargots

The larger type of edible snail is the Roman snail or escargot de Bourgogne (Helix pomatia) and this is harvested from the wild and also extensively farmed and often eaten in a rich butter and garlic sauce. With this an aged, oaked Chardonnay is ideal. Sometimes it is eaten in pastry parcels and with these a Beaujolais or a light red Burgundy would go nicely.

Soups and foie gras

Often a complementary dry sherry, especially with consommé, is a good match but with foie gras there is really only Sauternes.

Egg dishes

Typically, this might be a soufflé, a quiche Lorraine or an omelette Arnold Bennett. This is not an easy match to make and needs a gentle touch. The best that is readily found is, probably, an unoaked chardonnay.

Ham and pork

These are fatty meats and so you probably need a wine that is low in tannin and high in acidity to cut through it. Therefore a Beaujolais or a light red Burgundy (maybe Volnay) might do very well. For a cassoulet, a fruitier Beaujolais, such as Morgon, would make a fine match. A Chablis or, if red is preferred, a red Australian Shiraz goes nicely with pork bangers– unless it is at breakfast when, of course, it is going to be champagne, or Assam or even Yunnan teas.

Roast beef, bifstek, lamb

Here you can hardly beat a good red Bordeaux or ‘claret’. There is the reliable Berry’s Extra Ordinary Claret as a good staple wine; moving up, there is Château Batailley 2000, 2004 or, if you are really pushing the boat out, there are very fine wines, such as Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac, 2005. Other wines that might be considered here include red Rioja, Amarone and Barolo.

Liver and kidneys

Bouzy Rouge is the best known still, red champagne.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.