Pairing Calvados With Food? Here Are Six Culinary Offerings To Try
Calvados, or the apple brandy from the French province of Normandy is extremely popular for its sweet and slightly acidic quality and its fruity notes that make the drink very appealing. Over time, calvados has come to be used widely in cocktails too and mixologists are often coming up with new and varied combinations to craft really complex drinks that highlight the flavour components of this inviting liquor. But to truly bring a little bit of magic to your dinner table or to any party you host, you have to pair liquors and cocktails with the most suitable foods that brilliantly complement your signature drink.
With a robust apple flavour, calvados renders itself wonderfully to lots of diverse foods, making it a very easy drink to pair with different kinds of culinary repasts. You can generally enjoy a taste of this apple brandy with seafood and call to mind the French province and its coastline from where the drink emerges. Calvados is also a delectable pairing with desserts and goes really well with dark chocolate pastries or tiramisu whose bitter notes counteract the slightly sweet quality of the brandy.
Read on below to know more about some food pairings with calvados that you can serve the next time you host a party:
Lobsters And Scallops
One of the best pairings with calvados is blue lobsters. You can cook the lobsters in different kinds of complimentary sauces like garlic butter sauce or a dressing with lots of lemon zest that brings out the sweetness of the crustacean. The same goes for scallops, which can be cooked with herbs like parsley and served alongside a glass of calvados, creating a delightful sweet and sour combination.
Grilled Salmon With Dijon-Apple Sauce
Another seafood delight that goes well with calvados is salmon. You can grill this fish following the classic recipe and serve it with apple and mustard sauce. The potent flavours of the Dijon mustard will give the dish a slight zing that would balance the sweet and slightly acidic notes of the calvados.
Soft Cheeses – Brie, Camembert
Cheese and liquor is a match made in heaven. This holds true for calvados too, which can be paired perfectly with soft cheeses like brie and camembert that really melt in your mouth. These cheeses have a rather creamy quality that goes well with the sour and tart notes in the apply brandy. Additionally, when you are hosting a cocktail party, enjoying a glass of calvados between bites of brie really brings a very sophisticated feel to the whole affair.
Chicken Normandy
When serving calvados cocktails with mains, you can go for chicken normandy, a dish that is cooked in a helping of apple and cream sauce. This is a signature dish hailing from the French province and involves cooking a succulent piece of chicken with ingredients like apples, onions and a cream sauce that come together to serve a sweet and spicy dish. Instead of overpowering the liquor’s flavours, the sauce in fact brings the whole meal together in a harmonious blend.
Charcuterie
Meticulously craft a charcuterie board the next time you are hosting an intimate dinner party. This board exudes elegance and sophistication and when served with the right spirit, it actually manages to highlight the flavour components of the liquor. Such a well-prepared charcuterie board containing prosciutto or terrine and their earthy aromas would complement a serving of the fragrant calvados.
Tarte Tatin
Calvados can be served at a dessert course and when you close your meal with something as delicious as pie and a spot of ice cream, this spirit will work splendidly to celebrate these indulgent flavours. A tarte tatin made from the finest apples would then undoubtedly pair well with calvados that brings out the aromas and flavours of fermented perry pears.
