On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1344
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SherryVinegar
Like all good foods, wine, beer, and spirits
nourish and satisfy the body. What sets them
apart is the very direct way in which they
touch the mind. They contain alcohol, which
is both a source of energy and a drug. In
moderate amounts, alcohol causes us to feel
and express emotions of all kinds —
happiness, conviviality, sadness, anger —
with more freedom. In large amounts, it’s a
narcotic:itnumbsfeelingandcloudsthought.
Alcoholicdrinksthusoffervariousdegreesof
release from our usual state of mind. Small
wonder that they were once considered an
earthlyversionofthenectarofthegods,foods
that give mortals a taste of being carefree
mastersoflife!
Humankindhasalwayshadathirstfor
alcohol,andnowsatisfiesitwithmassproduceddrinksthatofferaninexpensive
respitefromtheworldanditscares.Butsome
winesandbeersandspiritsareamongthe
mostfinelycraftedfoodsthereare,thebest
thattheworldandcarehavetooffer.Their
flavorcanbesorich,balanced,dynamic,and
persistentthattheytouchthemindnotwith
releasefromtheworld,butwithaheightened
attentivenessandconnectiontoit.
Wine,beer,andspiritsarethecreationof
microscopicyeasts,whichbreakfoodsugars
downintoalcoholmolecules.Alcoholisa
volatilesubstancewhoseownaromais
relativelydiffuse.Ithastheeffectoflendinga
newdimensiontotheflavorofgrapesand
grains,akindofopenstageonwhichthe
food’sownvolatilemoleculescanappear.
Yeastsarealsoprodigiousflavorchemists,so
duringthefermentationtheyfillthatstage
withdozensofnewaromas.Thewinemakeror
brewerthendirectsthetransformationofthis
teeming,unrulycastintoabalanced,
harmoniousensemble.
Thoughtheysharethisbasicnature,wine
