I Don’t Always Drink Beer, But When I Do…

Zoe Bauer  

I can handle its foaminess, its stickiness, and even its smelliness, but the taste of beer is the reason I abstain from drinking it. I strongly dislike beer for its monotonous and bitter flavor, but more than that, I hate that I hate it. It’s tragic to attend the University of Michigan, an institution that undeniably has the best football tailgates in the country, and have to refrain from the social, carefree environment that beer creates for the students.

Beer, more than just an alcoholic beverage, is an activity. Instead of involving grimacing faces and extinguishing chasers, it breeds a “lets all be friends” type of attitude. People play games with beer, watch games while drinking it, talk about beer, talk while drinking it; the combinations are infinite. So, as last semester closed, I imagined begrudgingly the three beer-less football seasons that were still in store for me.

But my spirits were lifted when BuzzFeed introduced me to an entirely new role for this fermented drink. To my excitement, beer can be used as an ingredient in a variety of foods, sweet and savory, to enhance the dishes’ flavor and complexity. The BuzzFeed article presented 10 mouthwatering recipes that take the bitter, monotonous substance and transform it into soup bases, glazes, dips, and batters.

My favorite recipe calls for sautéing shallots and Brussels sprouts in a light beer and smoky bacon glaze to create a delicious and aromatic twist on a relatively bland vegetable.

A more conventional use of beer simply involves adding a bottle or so to a frying batter to create a thick gold coating on fish. Since beer is dense, the batter will encase the fish while keeping moisture in, so the fish won’t become dry or chewy.

After discovering the BuzzFeed article, further research led me to a plethora of beer-based recipes for all occasions. Turns out that including beer (of all kinds) is a simple and delicious solution for anyone trying to amp up a meal at an affordable cost.

But why does it work so well? Beer is becoming a popular flavor enhancer due to its relatively low alcohol content and its subtle flavor compared to cooking wines and liqueurs. The malty additive complements the ingredients it’s paired with, whether it’s adding a richer and deeper flavor to a sauce or glaze, or incorporating a clean, earthy taste to balance an overly sweet dish.

One small word of advice is to follow a recipe closely when it calls for a specific type of beer. Though it may be tempting to use whatever beer is already in the fridge, light and dark flavors often make a large difference in the end result of the dish. If the recipe doesn’t specify, it’s safe to assume that lighter beers work well with chicken, fish and dessert, while darker beers pair nicely with heavier meats like pork or lamb.

Next fall, while others are busy re-racking and keg standing, I’ll be hard at work filling my solo cup in preparation for a game-day dinner of Beer-Can Chicken and Hoppy Hush Puppies. Go Blue!

“What’s that you’re eating?”: Top Food trends of 2011

Emily Kastl  

Now that we have bid 2011 adieu and welcomed 2012, I thought this would be an opportune time to look back at some of the biggest food trends of the year. 2011 was arguably one of the biggest years for gastronomy in the media to date. With the rise of the organic and whole foods movements, the gluten-free fad, and the explosion of celebrity chefs and talk shows, hardly a day has passed without some sort of mention of food in the news. The impending doom of the obesity epidemic has no doubt scared our country into being more food conscience (has it really? Didn’t we just announce that pizza counts as a vegetable), resulting in the development of many of the trends listed below. Since I consider perusing news and social media sites one of my favorite past times (and a useful procrastination tool), I have compiled a list of the top 10 food trends I found to be most prevalent in my hours of extensive…research? That’s enough of beating around the bulgur—here they are:

Whole/Organic/Local Foods: Due to recent revelations of how food is grown/processed for your consumption (details too scary to talk about here), the popularity of healthy, local, whole foods has taken off. It’s all about decreasing the number of steps between the farmer and your grocery store.

Gluten-Free Diets: With celebrities like Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Gwyneth Paltrow publicly lobbying against gluten (a protein in wheat), many people have similarly kicked it to the curb—and out of their diets—with the hopes of losing weight and becoming healthier. This is ideal for people who can’t process gluten (Celiac’s disease), but for everyone else, there is no scientific research that supports the benefits of abstaining from gluten for weight loss purposes.

Celebrity Chefs/TV shows: Paula Deen, Rachel Ray, Mario Batali, Gordon Ramsey, Anthony Bourdain—the list goes on and on. Whether you fancy butter-saturated recipes or angry British chefs making people cry, there’s likely a food show out there that caters to your interests (no pun intended!).

Insects: Though you probably don’t have to worry about finding them at your local grocery store soon, these creepy-crawlies are becoming popular among food connoisseurs for their potential health benefits and low impact on the environment. Take crickets, for example. A handful of these little guys packs a walloping 13 grams of protein!

Meatless Mondays: This campaign, in association with Johns Hopkins University, encourages people to cross meat off the menu for one day out of the week to improve their health as well as our planet.

Foods in place of Supplements: As this movement gains support from doctors and nutritionists, more and more people are throwing away their vitamins and replacing them with foods like pomegranates, nuts, and spices.

Food Trucks: These mobile food hubs are becoming popular places for their unique, ethnic, and authentic foods, especially in big cities. The greasy, unsanitary food truck stereotype is no more!

Omega-3: This fatty acid found in fish and nuts is being cited as one of the best methods to combat heart disease, stroke, and depression. Eat up!

Probiotics: I’m sure you’ve heard Jamie Lee Curtis touting the benefits of probiotics in her yogurt commercials, but it’s true—they’re good for boosting immune systems and aiding digestion.

Asian foods: unique Asian flavors and ingredients are increasingly making their way into U.S. diets. This is largely due to their natural health benefits.