Teatime Tuesday: Cooking with Tea

Teatime Tuesday: Cooking with Tea

Tea isn’t just for drinking! Like other herbs, tea is a leaf, and as such can be used like you would an herb either in cooking or baking. A current trend is the use of matcha tea as a baking ingredient. A mint-green powder made by grinding the leaves, it is often used in cakes and pastries adding an aromatic “punch” as well as antioxidants. More baking ideas include Earl Grey or chai tea in pound cakes or shortbreads. Peppermint tea adds zip to your brownies in time for the holidays.

You can bake with any tea, however, as one site says, “that doesn’t mean every recipe will taste great when you use any type of tea (think of pizza – you wouldn’t top it with just any cheese.) As such, you’ll want to choose the type of tea with care. The flavor should blend or complement the other flavors in the recipe.

There are many ways bake with tea:

• Tea-infused liquids
• Ground tea leaves
• Tea-infused sugar
• Tea simple syrup
• Tea ganache (yep, you read that correctly. Instead of using milk, try brewed tea)
• Tea glaze

So, how about cooking with tea?

Adding tea leaves to soups, stews, and broths like any herb creates a complex flavor combination sure to please. Green tea goes well with onion, garlic, and ginger. Try your favorite tea as a marinade or rub. Black and oolong tea work well with chicken, turkey or pork, and play well with soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and other spices. Tea-smoke duck is a classic Szechuan dish.

Dips, sauces, and dressings can also be “taken up a notch,” to quote a certain TV celebrity chef. Black tea goes well with hoisin sauce for your next stir fry. Or brewed sweet tea blends with sweet and sour sauce as a delicious dip for fried chicken, tempura vegetables, or other deep-fried goodies.

What your favorite not-so-usual way of cooking or baking with tea?

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Legacy of Love, Part of A Cheerful Heart Anthology

Will their love come at a cost?

Escaping Boston to avoid a marriage of convenience aimed at garnering society’s respect for her family name in the shadow of her father’s war profiteering, Meg Underwood settles in Oregon. Despite leaving behind the comforts of wealth, she’s happy. Then the handsome Pinkerton agent, Reuben Jessop, arrives with news that she’s inherited her aunt’s significant estate, and she must return home to claim the bequest. Meg refuses to make the trip. Unwilling to fail at his mission, Reuben gives her until Christmas to prove why she should remain in Oregon and give up the opportunity to become a woman of means. When he seems to want more than friendship, she wonders if her new-found wealth is the basis of his attraction.

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Photo Credits:

Matcha Tea: Pixabay/Asana Kalumpaburt

Tea Leaves: Pixabay/DandelionL