Lucinda Frye
Diverse and indigenous cuisine brought by the many ethnic people to St. Maarten from all over the world piques our interest. To this end, we are on a quest to find where it comes from, if it is used for celebrations, if it is exotic to some but normal food to others. Anything to do with keeping the body and soul nourished with what is produced from good old terra firma is what makes the world go around.
It is that time of the year again: Heineken Regatta and Serious Fun and beer – mostly Heineken of course. But what of beer and food? The Regatta village opened at Port de Plaisance this past week. The opening night was fun, even if there were not quite the expected number of booths open and there sure did not seem to be that many folk out. The skies opened, and it bucketed down causing everyone out there to shelter in one of the large tents. There was plenty of room, and after the rain cleared as always, the evening became peaceful again.
Laughter and friends, with the same ideas of fun, food and booze, gathered all over the village. Live music had some folk dancing and the lines were not too long for the refreshments. The excitement is tangible, mounting and bustling. There are booths to mosey around in, including a large art booth this year. The food at the stalls is wonderful and all of it goes well with beer.
The sponsors are Heineken – personally, I rather enjoy this particular beer. Heineken Lager Beer/Heineken Pilsener/Heineken is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken International. Heineken is well known for its signature green bottle and red star.
“On February 15, 1864, Gerard Adriaan Heineken (1841–1893) convinced his wealthy mother to buy De Hooiberg (The Haystack) brewery in Amsterdam, a popular working-class brand founded in 1592. After hiring Dr. Elion (student of Louis Pasteur) in 1873 to develop Heineken, a yeast for Bavarian bottom fermentation, the HBM (Heineken's Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij) was established and the first Heineken brand beer was brewed.
In 1875, Heineken won the Medaille D'Or at the International Maritime Exposition in Paris, then began to be shipped there regularly, after which Heineken sales topped 1.7 million U.S. gallons, making them the biggest beer exporter to France.
In Heineken's early years, the beer won four awards! In 2013, Heineken joined leading alcohol producers as part of producers’ commitments to reducing harmful drinking. In the end of February 2013, Heineken stopped producing the brown bottles used for the Dutch market in favour of the green colour of bottles it already used for exports.
In 2014, Heineken celebrated its 150th anniversary. In 2015, Heineken won the Creative Marketer of the Year Award, becoming the second company to win the award twice. The original brewery where Gerard Adriaan Heineken first started making Heineken is now the Heineken Experience Museum. Now whether you enjoy Heineken or any one of the many beers out there, pairing food with beer is not as odd as you think. Beer pairs well with more than just meat at a BBQ.
Hops: People use "hoppiness" to describe how bitter a beer tastes, but not all hoppy beers are bitter. The earlier the hops are added, the more bitter the beer. Many breweries rate how bitter a beer is with an IBU number. IBU stands for International Bitterness Units; the higher the IBU, the stronger the bitterness.
Malt: Malt comes from roasted barley grain. Roasting barley gives beer a nutty flavour and a toasty aroma. During the roasting process, the sugars in the barley caramelize, bringing out a slightly sweet, caramel taste.
Dark: Dark can be used to describe how a beer tastes, not just the colour of the beer.
Light: Light beer is usually known for having a clean and crisp taste that is refreshing. Light beers do not generally have a strong flavour.
Beer does not do well in a pretty, long stemmed wine glass. Beer needs to be well chilled.
When pairing beer with food, here are some ideas to get you going:
Light Lagers – Spicy food, burgers, salads
Wheat Beers – Spicy food and fruity desserts
India Pale Ales – Steak, barbecue, and Mexican food
Amber Ales – Pizza, fried food, smoked pork
Dark Lagers – Pizza, burgers, hearty stews
Brown Ales – Sausage, sushi, fish
Porters – Seafood, coffee-flavoured desserts, game meats
Stouts – Chocolate desserts, shellfish, Mexican food
There you go! Beer goes well with many dishes! There are many kinds of beer, but here we mention just three as there is no more space to expound on other varieties. This is okay because the following three go well with food commonly eaten on island.
Light beers
Light beers have a pale-yellow colour and refreshing taste. Light lagers are the palest type of beer. Crisp and refreshing, this style of beer is one of the most popular. Light lagers are ideal for pairing with spicy dishes as the crisp and clean taste of these beers can cut through the spiciness. They go well with hot dogs and lightly flavoured dishes too. Salads and noodles go great with light beers.
Dark beers
Dark beers are not all bitter and overpowering. Porters and Stouts often have a mild flavour even though they could be almost black in colour. This type of beer is infused with nitrogen, rather than CO2. The nitrogen produces smaller bubbles which give these beers their signature silky smooth texture. The nitrogen also gives the beer a thick and foamy head!
Porters originated in London, the original variety were dark and strong. Today, porters are milder and come in a variety of styles and flavours. Porters are made with roasted brown malts giving strong notes of chocolate, caramel, and coffee. Porters’ rich and deep flavour pair well with buttery, rich lobster and crab legs, Mexican mole and BBQ. They also go well with game meats like venison, pheasant and rabbit.
Stouts are quite black in colour and are similar in taste to porters. Stouts are not necessarily high in alcohol content. There are many mild, well-rounded types of stout that have strong hints of chocolate and coffee as well as a silky-smooth consistency. Stouts pair perfectly with many kinds of desserts including dark chocolate truffles and chocolate mousse. Stout also pairs well with rich and heavily spiced foods like mole, lobster and BBQ. Surprisingly, you can pair stout with any kind of shellfish.
Cooking with beer
Beer can be used in cooking as it adds a deep, earthy flavour to savoury dishes like chili, soup and stews. It is great for baking, braising, deglazing, battering, sauces and marinating.
RECIPES
Beer batter – for crispy onions, chicken tenders, vegetables, shrimp and fish
Ingredients
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ cup beer
1 egg
1 TBL canola oil
Method
Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl using a fork.
Beat beer, egg and oil together in a separate bowl.
Stir into flour mixture until well blended.
Batter should be smooth and thick.
Dip fish, shrimp, or onion slices in batter.
Deep-fry in hot oil until it becomes golden.
Drain, serve while hot and crispy.
Rolls, cheddar and beer – these are easy and very good
Ingredients
6 cups bread flour, plus more for work surface
1 TBL instant yeast
2 tsp coarse salt
4 TBL unsalted butter (plus more for the bowl and bread tin)
¼ cup honey
2 cups pale ale/light beer
1¾ cups grated sharp white Cheddar
Method
Use a mixer with a dough hook.
Combine bread flour, yeast, salt, 2 TBL softened butter, honey and beer.
Mix on low speed 4 minutes.
Increase speed to medium and continue to mix for 2 minutes more.
Add 1 cup Cheddar cheese, mix until incorporated.
Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap.
Let rise about 1 hour (until nearly double in size).
Lightly grease a 9x13-inch bread tin.
Tip dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 even pieces.
Make each piece of dough into a ball and place into prepared pan (rolls may not touch, but they will as they rise and bake).
Cover with plastic wrap; allow to rise 35 to 45 minutes.
Toward end of rise time, heat oven to 400 °F.
Brush rolls with 2 TBL melted butter.
Top each roll with 1 TBL grated white Cheddar.
Bake rolls until golden brown - 17 to 22 minutes.
Cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
Macaroni cheese pie – a recipe to pair with dark beer
(Surprise! Stout and Mac’n Cheese go very well together! Sharp cheddar and a smooth oatmeal stout with a hint of hoppy bitterness go hand in hand.)
Ingredients
½ LB elbow macaroni
4 TBL butter
¾ cups milk
¾ cups cream
Salt, freshly ground white pepper
Pinch cayenne (red pepper flakes)
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
½ cup bread crumbs
Method
Preheat oven to 350 °F.
Cook macaroni in a large pot of boiling salted water about 6 minutes.
Drain, toss with 2 TBL butter and turn into a baking dish.
Heat milk and cream gently.
Season with salt, pepper and cayenne (red pepper flakes).
Stir in grated cheese.
When melted, pour over macaroni and mix well.
Sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Dot with remaining 2 TBL butter.
Bake 30-35 minutes.
