Cooking with Tea
Cooking for a different way to infuse your food with flavors? Try using teas. Their striking aromas and subtle flavors bring variety to cooking beyond your spice rack.
Not only are teas flavorful,but, as a bonus, they are rich in flavonoids, which help prevent and repair cell damage that can lead to cancer and other health problems. Researchers have found that drinking two to three cups of green or black tea a day may help maintain heart health.
In the kitchen, tea adds salt-free, sugar-free flavor to any dish. We’ve used tea in three recipes that suit it particularly well: a microwaved chocolate pudding that uses chai tea, an Asian chicken marinated and glazed in a green tea mixture, and in an apricot tea bread that’s perfect toasted for breakfast.
—By Serena Ball
Black tea can be substituted for green tea and flank steak subbed for the chicken; but don’t use black tea with the chicken as the tea tannins will stain the chicken a dark color.
Chocolate pudding becomes exotic with chai spices and can be made in a moment’s notice in the microwave. Kids can even prepare as an after-school treat.
This bread comes out of the oven a rich, deep golden color. While delicious when still warm, it’s even better the next day; wrap or keep in air-tight container overnight.
