Spirits & Liqueurs
Spirits such as brandy and rum can be an excellent way to flavour foods, and can also be used introduce a sense of drama and fun to a meal when they are used to flambé dishes such as Christmas puddings and crêpes Suzette. Not only do the flames look spectacular, but they burn away the neat alcohol, leaving behind a more subtle flavour.
The table below shows just some of the sweet and savoury dishes that gin, brandy whiskey and rum may be used in.
| Brandy | Gin | Rum | Whisky | |
| Soup | All bisques | - | - | - |
| Fish and Shellfish |
Sole All shellfish (especially lobster) |
- | Oysters | Lobster |
| Poultry | Pâtés Chicken Chicken livers Duck Guinea fowl Foie gras |
- | - | - |
| Game | Pates Grouse Partridge Quail Rabbit Venison Woodcock |
Quail | - | - |
| Meat | Pates Beef casseroles And steaks Kidneys Lamb |
Kidneys | - | - |
| Vegetables | Mushrooms | - | - | - |
| Sauces | Brandy butter Brandy cream Lobster sauce |
- | Rum butter | Sauce for lobster |
| Fruit and Desserts |
Apricots Cherries Oranges Peaches Christmas Pudding Mince pies Anything flambéed |
- | Apple desserts Baked bananas Fruit compotes Mixed berries Oranges Rum baba Anything flambéed Ice-cream |
Mincemeat Trifle Greengage Crumble |
| Cheese and Eggs |
Egg custard | - | Omelettes Souffles |
- |
Liqueurs and Eaux-de-Vie
Liqueurs and eaux-de-vie can turn a simple dish into something really special, worthy of any occasion. Those that are distilled from fruit or that are flavoured with it have a natural affinity towards that fruit, as well as the foods that the parent fruit shares an affinity. Thus, Calvados works beautifully with apple desserts, as well as with cooked pork. The same is true for liqueurs flavoured with essences and herbs.
The following table shows the flavours associated with a range of liqueurs and the foods they may be paired with.
| Flavour | Liqueur | Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Almonds | Amaretto Crème d'amandes |
Biscuits Icings Cakes Tiramisù |
| Anise | Pernod Anis Pastis |
Trout Sea bass Grey mullet Florence fennel Pork |
| Apple | Calvados | Pheasant Partridge Pork and veal dishes Cooked apple desserts |
| Apricot | Apricot brandy Abricotine |
Flame over roast chicken Soak dried apricots |
| Blackcurrant | Crème de cassis | Pour over ice-creams Use in sorbets |
| Bourbon and peaches | Southern Comfort | Peach desserts |
| Caraway, cumin, fennel and orris |
Kümmel | Cabbage Sauerkraut |
| Cherry | Maraschino (sweet) Kirsch (dry) |
Black Forest cake Fruit compotes Clafoutis Cheese fondue Fruit salad (strawberries, pineapple, cherries, figs, peaches, apples) |
| Chocolate and vanilla | Creme de cacao | Ice-cream Mousses Cakes |
| Coffee | Kahlúa Tia Maria Bailey's |
Cakes Gateaux Puddings Ice-creams |
| Eggs and brandy | Advocaat | Whip into cream for trifles and rich custards |
| Orange | Cointreau Curacao Grand Marnier |
Chicken Duck Lemon soufflé Chocolate mousse Sweet omelettes Crepes Fruit salads (apples, pears, figs, strawberries, oranges) |
| Peach | Eau-de-vie de pêche | Strawberries Raspberries Melon Sorbets |
| Pear | Poire Williams' Eau-de-vie de poire |
Pear desserts |
| Peppermint | Crème de menthe | Pour over chocolate ice-cream Use in chocolate milk shakes and puddings |
| Raspberry | Eau-de-vie de framboise | Strawberries Raspberries Melon Sorbets |
| Strawberry | Eau-de-vie de fraise | Strawberries Raspberries Melon Sorbets |
| Yellow plums and sloes | Mirabelle Prunelle Slivovitz |
Plum desserts Compotes |
