On Food and Cooking

ingredients in a broad range of dishes, from
savory soups and sauces and stews to sweet
creams and cakes, soufflés and sorbets. They
contribute distinctive flavors, often including
acidity, sweetness, and savoriness (from
glutamic and succinic acids), and the aromatic
dimension provided by alcohol and other
volatile substances. Some qualities can be a
challenge for the cook to work with, including
the astringency of red wines (p. 737) and the
bitterness of most beers. The alcohol itself
also provides a third kind of liquid — in
addition to water and oil — into which flavor
and color molecules can be extracted and
dissolved, as well as reactive molecules that
can combine with other substances in the food
to generate new aromas and greater depth of
flavor. While large amounts of alcohol tend to
trap other volatile molecules in the food,
small traces boost their volatility and so
intensify aroma.
At the same time that alcohol itself can be