Summer is a great time of year, the weather’s nice, the days are longer, and you can spend plenty of time out in the garden with your family and friends. You can also enjoy lots of lovely food and drink; the only downside is that you might gain weight. However, remember that summer is only for a few months, your holidays are only a few weeks so you really should enjoy yourself and enjoy everything that summer has to offer.
When it comes to beach days or going out for picnics, you can enjoy high-protein lunches and snacks. Think fresh fruits, veggies, Greek yogurt, low-fat string cheese, and turkey or nut butter sandwiches on whole-grain bread. Then when you’re out at barbecues and garden parties, you can enjoy a bun-less burger, succulent salads, and exotic kebabs.
Even if it’s not an occasion, there is nothing wrong with enjoying your food and drink as much as is entirely possible. During the summer in the long evenings even if it is just you and your family, you can make each evening into an occasion which could bring you all closer together.
In Europe, it’s very common for the whole family to take the time to appreciate food, family, and wine and to eat a meal with a number of courses along with wine as part of the culture. Dinner with the family creates fantastic memories for everyone, and the food and drink is a huge part of that. More taste buds are engaged when food and wine are paired. Taste buds lead to nerve endings, which lead to the brain. More taste engagement means more enjoyment.
There are some lovely summer recipes you can enjoy during the summer, and you can also try pairing different food with wine. Quite often wines will tell you what food they go well with, for example, this stags leap chardonnay can be paired with grilled chicken with lemon aioli, grilled salmon with a cucumber, tomato and fresh dill salsa or roast chicken breast stuffed with spinach, feta cheese, and roasted tomato.
If you’re just getting started on food and wine pairings then according to Wine Folly, there are a few simple rules that you can follow to get it just right and really make the most of your food and drink this summer:
- The wine should be more acidic than the food.
- The wine should be sweeter than the food.
- The wine should have the same flavor intensity as the food.
- Red wines pair best with boldly flavored meats (e.g., red meat).
- White wines pair best with light-intensity meats (e.g., fish or chicken).
- Bitter wines (e.g., red wines) are best balanced with fat.
- It is better to match the wine with the sauce than with the meat.
- More often than not, White, Sparkling, and Rosé wines create contrasting pairings.
- More often than not, Red wines will create congruent pairings.
Food and wine pairings are something that you could get into, and you would probably learn a lot about your own taste buds and your own preferences as well as learn some fantastic ways to impress guests when you have people over.
