Vermouth is a variety of wine which is fortified and aromatized by herbs and spices. The herbs and spices were originally added to cover up the quality of inferior wines or to disguise that they were past their prime. But later it became a rage and now vermouths are made to an exacting standard and it is a huge success with mixologists. It is also served as an aperitif. This wine comes in two types the Sweet or Red Vermouth and the Dry or White Vermouth. This exotic wine also gives excellent taste when used as cooking wine.
On nutritional facts of this exotic wine we find that one serving of this wine has a total calorie count of 55 kcal. This has zero protein and fat. All calories come from carbohydrates which constitutes 1% of the serving. Total carbohydrate content in 50g is 1.5g
The use of Vermouth in most classic cocktails is very well defined. Sweet Vermouth is used as a modifier in ‘Manhattan’ and Dry Vermouth in a ‘Martini’. The sweet vermouth is also known as the Italian Vermouth and the dry vermouth is also known as the French Vermouth.
Dry vermouth is 18% alcohol and has approximately 7% residual sugar, while Sweet vermouth are 15% alcohol and up to 15% residual sugars. Sweet vermouth is mainly used as an aperitif or an after dinner drink.
Vermouth is also substituted for wine in many dishes. As it is fortified with very aromatic herbs and spices it may not please everybody’s palate. It has a slightly higher percentage of alcohol as compared with the usual cooking wine so it may need a little longer simmering time to cook off the alcohol. But it definitely lends a distinctive aroma to most curries and adds a lot of flavor to a lot of savory dishes.
