Delight your guests with a glass of sherry.
Sherry is a type of wine fortified with liquor to preserve it and give it longer shelf life. Many cooking recipes call for sherry to add flavor. Often, stir fry dishes and sauces call for dry sherry. There is a difference between cooking sherry and drinking sherry, and while both can be dry, cooking sherry is not suitable for drinking as it has salts added as a preservative that make its taste a bit unpleasant. Sherry should be stored upright in a dark, cool place. It can be stored unopened for up to 36 months. Once opened, it should be refrigerated and used within a few weeks. Drinking sherry, as well as non-alcoholic and sweet white wine, are suitable replacements for cooking sherry in any recipe.
History
Sherry comes in many varieties from light to dark in color and dry to smooth and velvety in taste. It can be crisp or sweet, but the one thing tying the varieties together is the way sherry has been prepared. Since the Phoenicians began producing sherry in the southwestern city of Jerez in Andalucia, Spain about 1,100 B.C., sherry has been stabilized, or fortified, with brandy to prepare it for long ship voyages to its final destinations. Over time, Jerez evolved to sherish and eventually, sherry, as we know it today. Dry sherries can be served chilled as a cheese wine or paired with a variety of meats and cheeses.
Serving
If you are offering dry sherry as a drink, serve it in small-mouthed wine glasses so people are able to enjoy less of it at a time. Because sherry is fortified with brandy, many drinkers prefer to sip sherry so they consume its higher alcohol content more slowly. The ideal serving temperature for sherry is 57 degrees Fahrenheit and while it lasts a long time, it is best to open within five to 10 years of its original bottling date. After opening, sherry should be consumed within a few days.
Amontillado
Amontillado is a dry sherry with a deep, nutty aroma. It is naturally amber in color and tastes smooth and rich. It pairs well with chicken and pork as well as aged cheese and oily fish, like salmon. Amontillado comes from a Spanish adjective meaning Montilla-like which refers to the southern region of Spain where the wine is produced. Amontillado may be the most famous dry sherry since it was mentioned in Edgar Allen Poe's short story, "The Cask of Amontillado."
Manzanilla
Manzanilla is lighter in color than Amontillado but is equally dry for a sherry. It is a light-tasting sherry with the color of straw. Manzanilla pairs well with Spanish tapas as well as seafood, like shrimp, scallops, clams and squid, as well as mild cheese and ham. Manzanilla should be served chilled if you are offering it as a drink along with a meal.
Tags: cooking sherry, fortified with, call sherry, fortified with brandy, pairs well, pairs well with, served chilled
