It’s a time for slow cooked comfort food, soul-hugging dishes and hot drinks to wrap your hands round.
All of which get a new depth of deliciousness from a dash of ANGOSTURA® bitters, which now has three versatile flavours to add to your kitchen repertoire.
Every cuisine has its cheat sheet seasoning secrets… that bottle of Worcestershire sauce that is indispensable to British stews and hot pots; the fish sauce that adds hidden umami depth to Thai and Vietnamese soups and curries; in Trinidad and Tobago the cook’s sleight of hand secret bottle comes courtesy of ANGOSTURA® – yup, the iconic yellow-topped bottle with the over-sized label from your cocktail cabinet has been moonlighting in the kitchen all this time.
Now that winter is upon us and the kitchen is the warmest place to be, it’s time to inject a little of that Caribbean warmth into your dishes.
Here are just a few ways to use ANGOSTURA® aromatic bitters, ANGOSTURA® orange bitters, and ANGOSTURA® cocoa bitters to greatest effect. Experiment and see how many more twists you can make to your family favourites with an added dash of aromatic delight.
Beef it up
A slow cooked beef stew with a hearty base of onions and carrots can often do with a little something extra in the way of seasoning to beef it up. A few dashes of ANGOSTURA® aromatic bitters take this homely dish to the next level, with subtle nuances of spices and an underlying complexity that tantalises the tastebuds. It works just as well to rev up a humble pot of beef mince, whether destined for a shepherd’s pie or a pasta sauce. The secret is to add the bitters at the start of cooking, so the aromatics slowly meld and enhance the other ingredients for a harmonious hug of warm flavour.
In the mood for something celebratory and sweet? Add two dashes to your favourite pavlova recipe, or to a carrot cake. The subtle twist of aromatic spices brings a new dimension to these old-favourite desserts.
What you should cocoa
Cocoa isn’t just for sweet treats, although ANGOSTURA® cocoa bitters do work beautifully in baking. Try them added to the dough for extremely moreish choc chip cookies. Just one dash adds a magic complexity to the chocolate butter icing on a rich chocolate cake. And those rich, floral, nutty cocoa aromas elevate a simple mug of hot chocolate to an even more chocolatey soul-food treat.
But experiment with cocoa bitters in savoury dishes too. Think Mexican-inspired dishes – that Aztec food ancestry is a natural partner to cocoa – black bean soups, chilli, a mole sauce for enchiladas, all gain immeasurably from a dash or two of cocoa-infused aromatics.
A match made in heaven
Orange and chocolate are a natural flavour match made in heaven, so reach for the ANGOSTURA® orange bitters when you’re making a chocolate dessert that could do with a little extra citrus and spiced lift. It works wonders with fruit too – think apple pie or plum crumble with an a subtle spicy zestiness backing up the fruit.
On the savoury side, the tropical orange and spice notes work beautifully in barbecue sauces, or in a herby mayo to accompany prawns. Play with ANGOSTURA® orange bitters in seafood and chicken dishes, and add a dash to glazes for ham, duck and roast chicken. And it’s a winner as a winter warmer as a base note to a simple cauliflower soup (grate cheese into the soup before serving for comforting melty richness).
Just a dash
Even when you’re not in cooking diva mode and just want a quick supper, you don’t need to go the full Martha Stewart to enjoy ANGOSTURA® aromatic bitters in your food. Something as simple as scrambled eggs can be dolled up to herby sophistication with a single dash. Go wild and add a dash of cocoa bitters to your breakfast coffee and transport yourself to the Caribbean from the chill of a South African winter morning.
Your winter kitchen will warm to an alluring comfort-food fug of spicy aromas with one simple shake of your ANGOSTURA® bottle, so don’t let it hide in the cocktail cabinet. Give those three colour-coded bottles, topped in yellow, orange and purple, pride of place on your kitchen counter so that you can reach for them easily whatever the weather.
For more information on the Angostura range and delicious food and cocktail recipes, please visit www.angosturabitters.com.
- Follow Angostura South Africa on Facebook /Angostura South Africa and Instagram @AngosturaZA for fun facts, recipes and brand updates.
It’s in this spirit that the Cape Town Gin & Spirits Company is keeping the celebrations simple by sharing a delicious G&T recipe using their herbaceous Cape Town Black Rhino Gin. With seductive hints of citrus, and pepper and liquorice notes, this gin pairs spectacularly with a simple tonic – but there’s a slight twist with the garnish! Add in an orange slice as well as few black peppercorns and this simple combination ties together those warm, aromatic flavours.