What to eat alcohol: time-tested combinations

Vodka

A connoisseur of world cuisine, William Pokhlebkin believed that the only possible partners for vodka were national Russian cuisine. The tradition of the snack table in Russia finally took shape by the 18th century, just in the heyday of home distilling, so that vodka and numerous options for appetizers were literally created for each other.

Meat, meat and flour and fish dishes are ideal, fatty, spicy and salty are only welcome. Pokhlebkin noted that vodka promotes the assimilation of such heavy food, producing a kind of refreshing effect: you will not overeat, and you will not be out of order ahead of time.

From meat dishes, it makes sense to choose dumplings, jellied meat, boiled tongue, jellied veal, salted bacon or ham. There seems to be no better companion for vodka among soups than hodgepodge.

For all these types of snacks, vodka, mustard and horseradish are required as components that enhance their gastronomic appeal and highlight their taste properties.

Fish snacks, of course, are the traditional herring with sunflower oil and onions, caviar (if also with pancakes, then in general beauty), jellied sturgeon and smoked smelt, muksun, omul and pink salmon.

With vegetables, everything is obvious: pickles and tomatoes, sauerkraut and mushrooms, pickled or pickled. Vinaigrette is perfect for vodka (Pokhlebkin offered an option with chopped egg and a small amount of herring) and even boiled potatoes, if it is accompanied by herring with onions and butter.

Snacks for vodka: dumplings, hodgepodge, herring with sunflower oil and onions, smoked fish, pickled cucumbers, vinaigrette.

Wine

White, to fish, red, to meat: such a reinforced concrete rule is usually followed when choosing a wine for a meal. In fact, everything is much more interesting. The main thing to know: the thinner the taste and aroma of the wine, the simpler, more neutral and delicate the appetizer should be.

Accordingly, leave hearty dishes with spices and sauces for wines, the taste of which cannot be easily forgotten. For example, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel or Merlot make great friends with a spicy meat stew, but Sauvignon Blanc will seem rather pale against its background, but with fish, that's the thing.

Another curious and not the most obvious advice, when choosing a wine, be guided by the texture of the dish: if it is clearly expressed, then the wine should also have character. So, for grilled beef, tart wines are suitable than for tender veal or stew.

In a situation where you want to limit yourself to a light snack, cheese is beyond competition. It goes best with white wines, but you can pair it with red. Camembert and Brie are good with both Riesling and Beaujolais or Pinot Noir, Cheddar and Gouda are good with Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Shiraz. Mozzarella, feta and goat cheese make the perfect accompaniment to Chablis, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Chianti.

Wine and fruit, a perfectly suitable combination when it comes to wines, in the taste and aroma of which fruity notes are clearly audible: nutmeg or Gewürztraminer. If you want to experiment, try the same Gewürztraminer or Riesling with Asian dishes, the combination promises to be interesting.

As for sparkling wines, brut and semi-dry are good with chicken, fish and seafood. For fatty meat and spicy dishes, these are not the best companions, although it is not forbidden to drink a steak with brut. Save semi-sweet sparkling wine for dessert, but remember that it should not be too cloying. For example, oriental sweets are definitely not suitable, good wine against their background will seem that still sour.

As a last resort, there is a cheat trick: choose dishes related to the cuisine of the region where your wine comes from. It will be quite difficult to miss.

Snacks for wine: meat dishes, cheese, fruits, moderately sweet desserts.

Beer

It would seem, why invent something when there is salted fish, pigtail cheese and chips in the world? You don't have to show off and drink beer with crackers, but in this approach to choosing a snack there is neither inspiration nor flight of thought. Good beer, good food.

Here's a light lager, for example, a light and refreshing beer that goes well with spicy dishes with rich flavors. Anything from Italian, Spanish or Mexican food, perfect. If the contrasts aren't appealing, there is chicken, seafood or typical bar snacks, cheese balls, fries and all that stuff. A very simple option, cheese, it is better to choose soft or semi-hard varieties.

A worthy company for unfiltered wheat beer will be light vegetable salads (sounds strange, but it really is), seafood dishes (including sushi and rolls) and Bavarian sausages.

With ales, everything is simple, choose the meat, you won't go wrong. Burgers, steaks, chicken wings with hot sauces, pizza, food without any special pretensions, which will best shade the taste of beer.

Stout and porter are made for people who love to drink and eat in equal measure. This is where the heavy artillery comes in: stews, goulash, potato casseroles and grilled meats. From the unexpected, chocolate, pastries based on it and desserts with coffee and caramel. Yes, beer is friends not only with pork ears and dried bream. The simplest brownie will make a very good company with a glass of porter.

Lambic is good with light desserts, cheesecakes, ice cream and fruits, and they can be presented in any form: even by themselves, at least as a component of fruit salads. If you want to eat more thoroughly, meat with fruit or berry sauces will be very relevant.

Beer snacks: cheese, meat and poultry dishes, seafood, desserts with chocolate, caramel and coffee, fruits.

Cognac

Attention, we rip off the covers: cognac, in principle, does not need a snack. A good drink is great in itself, but nothing will help a lousy cognac.

If you still want to have a snack, lean meat, hard cheese and dark chocolate will help out. Caviar tartlets or pâté sandwiches will come in handy, as will fruits, pears or grapes that can be added to a cheese plate. Seafood and mushrooms are usually not considered as a snack, but in vain, try, for example, making friends with cognac and bruschetta with wild mushrooms.

Seizing cognac with lemon is an extremely dubious idea, because it completely interrupts the impression of the drink. In the case of bad cognac, this is even for the best, but why drink such a drink?

Cognac snacks: chocolate, meat, cheese, fruits, seafood, mushrooms.

Whiskey

Whiskey and melon, a wild at first glance combination that still has the right to life. Fruits and berries can be a good accompaniment to whiskey, so store pears, apples, peaches and grapes for the next feast.

Seafood is a great option, as is red fish such as lightly salted salmon or salmon. Meat will also be appropriate if it is presented in the form of a steak, ham or roast.

Finally, cheese, the most versatile appetizer possible. There are no strict restrictions, both soft and hard varieties will do. No one will beat you on the hands, even for experiments with whiskey and blue cheese, but what, looking for new combinations, is a commendable business.

Whiskey snacks: fruits, seafood, meat, cheese.