Just as there is an art to cookery, and just as there is an art to mixology or drink-making, there is an art to matching food with drink. Flavour profiles must be combined to complement and enhance the other, without overwhelming the palette.
Food and Drink Pairings: What are the Best Non-Alcoholic Options?
This is a collaborative post
Traditional pairings are well-heeled even at home, with red wines commonly making their way to the table alongside roast meats and deep tomato-based pasta dishes. While alcohol has a justified seat at the table for food pairings, not everyone can drink – and a growing low-or-no-alcohol trend has many of us looking for non-alcoholic alternatives to serve alongside dinner. But what non-alcoholic drinks pair well with popular dishes?
Indian Cuisine
Indian cuisine is an extremely broad church of flavours and textures, but if the sub-genres within Indian cuisine share anything in common it is undoubtedly depth of flavour. For this reason, alcoholic drinks are often drunk alongside Indian foods, with the alcohol serving to cleanse the palate as well as complement the flavours on display.
Conventional British-Indian curries are often paired well with lagers for this reason, and ‘going for a curry’ is synonymous with pints of Cobra or Kingfisher in curry houses as a result. But they are by no means the only beneficial pairing. Indeed, ginger ales or ginger beers are a strong substitute! The astringent fragrance of the ginger cuts through the bold spices and chilli heat of the curry, refreshing the palate with each bite.
Salads
Salads are often considered to be on the opposite end of the spectrum to bold, deep-flavoured dishes like Indian curries. The relative lightness of flavour makes salad dishes anything but boring, though – the complex interplay between earthy greens and sharp vegetables or dressings can be delightful to navigate.
Salads are commonly paired with white wines, where floral and tart flavours work in concert with the dish, ensuring not to overwhelm the palate. A good non-alcoholic alternative comes in the form of matcha, with matcha tea offering a light-yet-complex flavour profile that plays well with vinaigrettes.
Pastas
Pastas are another common white wine pairing, particularly those with white or oleic sauce bases. The richness of pasta dishes is undeniable, even in the lighter dishes like aglio e olio, on account of olive oils playing a major role in the cohesion of each plate. Sparkling and citrusy soft drinks are fantastic at breaking up and cutting through the oil, as well as at refreshing the tongue and settling the stomach; a virgin mojito is a great drink to pair with unctuous dishes like carbonara.
Pizzas
Pizzas, with their sharp tomato bases and delightful array of potential toppings, present a greater challenge on the drinks front. With tangy, sweet sauce bases supporting umami and salty toppings, lighter drinks can fail to measure up or cut through. As such, something with a bit more gusto is necessary to complement the average pizza. Grapefruit juice is a strong contender here, being tart and bitter without being cloying; its thin top notes are perfect for meeting the sweet acidic quality of a good pizza sauce base.
Read more posts in the Food & Drink Category