Cooking with Wine Can Be Good for Your Health

You can reduce the amount of calories, sodium, fat and cholesterol dramatically when you cook with wine. Wine adds a richness to food that easily replaces high calorie ingredients. Using dessert as an example, fruit that is poached in wine and served with a cookie or two has less than half the calories of a slice of chocolate cake.

You may use less salt, too, when you cook with wine. We enjoy the flavor of coarsely ground kosher salt or sea salt, but if you prefer little or no salt, don’t use it. Salt can usually be replaced by the flavorful nuances of the ingredients in the dish when combined with wine.

You can also greatly reduce the amount of fats and oil that you use very simply. In place of the usual butter, margarine or cooking oil, use a few drops of olive oil or a spritz or two of cooking oil to cook meat, poultry or fish, then use wine liberally to complete the cooking by poaching instead of frying.

When frying foods, you can easily make a sauce that will be a true gourmet’s delight … with fat and calories greatly reduced. Simply combine wine with the brown bits from the pan, and stir in a little flour to thicken the sauce.

Cholesterol levels, too, are greatly decreased and the natural goodness of your dish is enhanced when wine is used in place of cheese, cream, butter and fat.

It’s nice to know that it is possible to eat well, drink well, and enjoy better nutrition, too, isn’t it?