Cooking Mouthwatering Meals with Moscato Like A Professional

What can I use Moscato to cook with?

Sipping a chilled glass of Moscato always helps when cooking. The sweet wine may be required in a few specific recipes but is not a fitting white wine substitute for most dishes. There is a general rule about cooking with a dry white wine. However, you can cook with Moscato beyond the recipes that call for it. 

Many wine lovers recommend appetizers, and light tangy meals, like Asian cuisine with Moscato. The undeniable use is, of course, as an enhancement to desserts. This semisweet frizzante is delectable with pies, chocolate, or nutty tortes and sweet enough to be it’s own pièce de résistance! 

Let’s take a crash course in this wine to understand how to cook with it.

Why Moscato May Be Good To Cook With

Moscato is an Italian word referencing the muscat family of grapes. The muscat grape produces still to slightly sparkling, aromatic wines. The low alcohol content relative to other wines means Moscato is sweet in its classification.

Most Moscatos are sweet with flavor notes of:

• lemon
• mandarin
• orange blossom
• honeysuckle
• stone fruit

Its medium to high acidity makes it ideal for cooking desserts. Moscato pairs tastefully with contrasting flavors from spicy, sour, and salty to bitter or compliments sweet or fruity courses.

Considering this, Moscato would be a great addition to roasted pumpkin or caramelized onion, as it adds a hint of sweetness to savory soups. Creamy curries or rich sauces incorporating dried or cooked fruit are also ideal.

What Else Cooks Well With Moscato

In addition, the wine is perfect for sweet sauces, reductions, rich seafood sauces, or poaching fruit. 

Think fruity tea cakes, vanilla, or fruit-flavored cupcakes, and infusing the fruit with Moscato. You would treat the wine as a simple syrup for the fruit in the latter instance. 

Adding Moscato to fruit cobblers is an obvious choice if you’re venturing into the realm of baking. The sweet nature of the muscat grape lends itself to glazes and semisweet to sweet reductions. Try adding Moscato as the liquid ingredient replacement when roasting, boiling or steaming. Infusing Moscato into baked goods like macron makes for an indulgent treat.

This is a perfect wine to amp up the fruit’s flavor profile when making jams. You could fold Moscato into custard recipes, ice cream, and even sorbet would be a delectable treat. 

Chew on the idea of adding Moscato as a zippy balance to barbecue sauce for savory dishes. You could also braise chicken, pork, or seafood in Moscato. Envision poaching seafood in the wine before grilling would add layers of complex flavors to any dish!

What should I avoid cooking Moscato with?

You add a quality wine to add acidity to your dishes, not sweetness. Steer clear of cooking any recipes that call for a dry white wine. This is because the sugars in the wine begin burning or caramelizing and affect the flavor of the food. 

Moscato might overpower the subtle flavors of simple foods. Avoid anything that isn’t high in spices or bold in flavor when cooking. As a general rule of thumb, also refrain from cooking red meats with Moscato.

Can I use Moscato for pasta sauce?

 Now that we’ve discussed Moscatos flavor profile and pairings, you can think about the sauces that might meld well with these wines. Tomato sauce is probably not a good idea. Instead, try a white or lemony pasta sauce for a fish or chicken dish if you’re feeling adventurous.

 Moscato may pair well with milk-based sauces like béchamel, incorporating cheese. A Moscato could balance a spicy or chili pepper sauce as well. You can also try a sauce for vegetarian dishes as the flavors compliment vegetables like fennel, carrots, and bell peppers. Add the pasta, and voila! 

Final Thoughts on Cooking with Moscato

In short, for cooking, consider incorporating Moscato for modestly sweet, flavorful sauces, reductions, or syrups. Served chilled, Moscato with flavor notes of citrus, honeysuckle, and stone fruit pairs well with sweet salads, savory seafood, dessert, and fruit dishes, i.e., break out the cheeseboard.