Cooking With Tea

Tea is not just for drinking anymore; Tea Lovers Will Enjoy Cooking With Tea

Cooking with tea has been an important part in the taste and preparation of food for hundreds of years and is becoming very popular again in the Food Industry. Many gourmet chefs are reviving the practice, adding the “new ingredient” tea, to their culinary creations. The value of its antioxidant properties is another incentive to the practice of cooking with tea.

There are many wonderful tea cookbooks that will inspire you to incorporate this wonderful and healthful herb into your own family favorite recipes.

You might grind your tea leaves in a peppermill and add some white pepper. Use this mixture as a rub for your favorite steak or pork chops to add zest and extra flavor. Jasmine tea instead of water used to cook your rice will add a wonderfully aromatic bouquet.

Tea is an efficient tenderizer when added to a favorite marinade. Steep the tea bags and squeeze the bags to get all of the benefit and flavor of the brewed tea. If using loose tea, measure twice the quantity and steep for the appropriate time for the type of tea. Steeping too long will bring out bitterness. Bring the tea to a boil until reduced two-thirds then add it to your chicken breast marinade for a delightfully mysterious extra flavor. Tea Oil is becoming quite a popular substitute for canola and vegetable oils.

Tea leaves add a special exotic touch to many sea foods. Pour some over your baking salmon or add some to your frying pan as you simmer your salmon slice, try tea in shrimp dishes. Add tea to your mushrooms, pork, and chicken.

 Try using orange, spiced tea instead of water in preparing cranberries for your homemade cranberry sauce during the holidays.

You will find tea being added to many luscious desserts as well. There is green tea sorbet and even chocolates infused with tea leaves. Macha Green Tea Powder from Japan is a key ingredient in many gourmet tea flavored ice creams.   Scented or fruited blends will add much to pastries. These can be incorporated into muffins, cookies, pound cakes, and after dinner sweets of all kinds. Add tea infused butter to your own light cakes and cookies for an interesting difference. Even fruit flavors benefit from sauces with tea added.

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