Science and Technology Publishing (SCI & TECH) ISSN: 2632-1017 Vol. 3 Issue 10, October - 2019 Alcoholic beverages and their role in the culinary technology Aneta Popova Department of Catering and tourism University of food technologies Plovdiv, Bulgaria [email protected] Abstract—Countries are very attached to their New recyclable packages are increasing their traditions and their diets are influenced by various presence in the food production chain [3]. More factors i.e. product diversity, climate change, food efficient processes, in terms of energy, water use, availability, historical dishes. Consumers waste reduction, and repurposing byproducts, have to nowadays have much greater expectations and be included in culinary technology. Manufacturers and less trust. Organic, bio and fair trade are only a culinary specialists are fighting for zero-waste food few of the terms gaining popularity in the food processing cycles. chain production circle. The ultimate goal is a Alcoholic beverages have served as sources of sustainable food production and healthy diets. medicine and nutrients [4]. Fermented fruit/grains are in the base of alcohol making. Evidence of alcoholic The purpose of this review was to present the beverages are found in many places throughout ways alcoholic beverages are incorporated in history i.e. China, India, Greece, etc. [5]. Cacao fruit, dishes from different regions and nationalities as for instance, was used to produce wine around 1400 well as to provide knowledge about the properties BC. Cacao wine, also known as theobroma, was alcohol can exhibit while being an ingredient to a valuable to the Aztecs and used in religious dish. This paper also introduces alcohol as a ceremonies [6]. Herbal wines were popular in Ancient contemporary cooking fuel with both its Egypt [7]. In Greece, a fermented honey drink gained advantages and disadvantages. popularity. Georgian wine is considered one of the oldest found worldwide. There is evidence that it was Alcoholic beverages add up to the aroma and produced as early as 6000 BC in Tbilisi. The oldest taste of dishes prepared with them, but special alcoholic beverage with definite proof is discovered in attention has to be paid to the percentage of Jiahu (China) around 7000 – 6600 BC and was made alcohol left in the meal. The growth of food variety from rice, honey, and hawthorn fruit and/or grape [8]. and innovations offers an opportunity for the Literature has documented several examples of manufacturers and food industry to develop new, alcohol worshiping. A wine goddess was known to the sustainable, nutritious and well-designed dishes. Babylonians, while in the Sumerian culture Ninkasi blessed beer and brewing. In the eighteen and Keywords alcoholic beverages; dishes; nineteen centuries, different attitudes existed towards ingredients; cooking techniques alcoholic beverages: from encouragement to total I. INTRODUCTION prohibition. Food is an inseparable part of human life. It took Alcoholic beverages can be found as ingredients in many centuries for people to discover food processing numerous dishes i.e. soups, stews, sauces, desserts, and thermal treatment. Humans initially learned how to etc. They contribute to the sensory profile of ready preserve food with the use of drying, fermentation and dishes adding sweetness, acidity, and flavor. Alcohol salting [1]. After that, processes like boiling, roasting, also enriches the aroma with its volatile compounds. autoclaving, sous-vide, etc. became known. There are Volatile compounds in alcohol exceed 800 in number numerous reports on the development of the culinary but only a few of them are responsible for the customs and traditions of people in different distinctive sensation of alcohol when being consumed. geographic areas. Culture specificities usually reflect Flavor active compounds belong to classes like esters, on the typical dishes prepared by people. Food not carbonyl compounds, sulphur compounds, volatile only has to be nutritious but also well designed and phenols, etc. [9]. Alcohol is usually classified by its lying on the traditional for the region ingredients. alcohol content: around 40% v/v alcohol content in Sustainable healthy diets are trending and it is brandy; not more than 9 % v/v in wines; and 86% v/v in challenging to produce adequate food, which is spirits [10]. Adding alcohol in culinary technology is sufficient, and at the same time containing enough challenging, as it can be either an asset or a liability to nutrients. the dish. Alcohol can influence the mechanical properties of ingredients altering them in an Consumers cast a critical eye on the food they unfavorable way. Simmering dishes containing alcohol consume. Facing challenges such as climate change, leads to the evaporation of almost 95% of the alcohol. resource scarcity, malnutrition, obesity, and health On the other hand, the flambé (French: to flame) burdens, they have to turn to sustainable and health technique contains up to 75% of the initial alcohol beneficial nutrition [2]. Products labeled as organic, quantity used. It has been suggested that alcohol whole, of free-from are gaining enormous popularity. www.scitechpub.org SCITECHP420070 236 Science and Technology Publishing (SCI & TECH) ISSN: 2632-1017 Vol. 3 Issue 10, October - 2019 improves the flavor in food by evaporation and II. ALCOHOL AND HUMAN BODY molecular bonding. The volatile effect of the alcohol molecules works best when a dish contains less than Personal health status is directly linked to menu a 1% of alcohol. The alcohol helps release flavor person chooses. Alcohol itself is seen as a drug, molecules in foods and assists in dissolving fats, because it changes the operation of the tissue it allowing ingredients to reveal their own unique flavors diffuses in. In chemistry, alcohols are a large family of in ways that other liquids (like water or broth) or fats substances with similar molecular structure. In culinary (like butter and olive oil) cannot. practice when the term alcohol is used, it refers to ethanol or ethyl alcohol. In the field of food science, product quality and its sensory perception is a priority criteria. Resources When being introduced into the digestive system, from different regions/countries provide the traditional, ethanol is quickly distributed in to the body by blood exotic, or authentic taste of the dish. Globalization flow. The concentration of alcohol in the cells shows enables the infusion of cultural traditions and local the level of intoxication. Frequent consumption of large cuisine. Consumers are constantly seeking new, quantities of alcohol can lead to deleterious health previously seen as exotic, products to be incorporated effects. The French paradox, on the other hand, has in recipes. shown that the moderate consumption of red wine can lower the risk of coronary heart disease [11]. Daily red The purpose of this review was to present the ways wine consumption can reduce coronary artery disease alcoholic beverages are incorporated in dishes from and atherosclerosis. Vilahur and Badimon [12] have different regions and nationalities as well as to provide established that inflammation and lipid status can be knowledge about the properties alcohol can exhibit improved by consuming 150 ml/day (women) and 450 while being an ingredient to a dish. This paper also ml/day (men) red wine. Epidemiological studies introduces alcohol as a contemporary cooking fuel with focusing on the Mediterranean diet have concluded both its advantages and disadvantages. Within the that the consumption of two glasses of wine daily framework of the abovementioned, no discussion is improves health status and prolongs life expectancy made on the topic of pairing food with alcoholic [13]. Wine reportedly contains antioxidants and beverages. phenolic compounds [14]. Red wine has trihydroxystilbene (fig. 1a) and trihydroxystilbene-3-b- D-glucoside (fig. 1b) as its ingredients. (a) (b) (c) Fig. 1 Resveratrol (a), piceid (b), xanthohumol (c) Resveratrol aids the cardiovascular system to anti-inflammatory, and bactericidal. Beer is another oppose to oxidative stress by penetrating the brain alcoholic beverage with considerable beneficial barrier and protecting nerve cells; reducing the properties. Beer contains important nutrients i.e. B- formation of blood clots [15]. These are only few of the group vitamins, selenium, and potassium. About 30% secondary metabolites with potential health benefits. of beer polyphenols are derived from hops. It has been Phenolic compounds not only contribute to the sensory discovered that hops contain 0.5mg/kg trans- profile of wine (flavor, color, bitterness, etc.) but also resveratrol, and a number of piceid isomers. possess health promoting properties i.e. antioxidant, Xanthohumol (fig. 1c), the major flavonoid found in www.scitechpub.org SCITECHP420070 237 Science and Technology Publishing (SCI & TECH) ISSN: 2632-1017 Vol. 3 Issue 10, October - 2019 beer, may prevent colonic carcinogenesis, and shown that ethanol and wine polyphenols can act suppresses CYP1A2, a key enzyme involved in cancer synergistically against chronic cardiac disease [16]. progression. III. USAGE IN CULINARY TECHNOLOGY Moderate consumption of alcoholic drinks affects indicators of atherosclerosis, such as improving lipid Alcohols are valuable cooking ingredients if used metabolism, increasing antioxidant activity, and wisely. Depending on the time and technique, being improving coagulant status. Scientific evidence has used different percentage