We all love freshly brewed coffee, and with the emergence of specialty coffee over the past few years, we have come to expect high standards in the quality of the beans, the roasting and of course the brewing process. ‘Snobbery’ about coffee has become a basic consumer expectation, especially in the western world. However, instant coffee is not a devil's play, in fact! If used cleverly, it can add an extra twist to classic recipes.
Despite this, most of the world lives on instant coffee, granules that are freeze-dried and mixed with hot water, sometimes milk, sometimes condensed milk and sugar. Instead of we grimace at it, perhaps it's time to reassess instant coffee as a drink, as it's what most of us drank as adults, so it has a nostalgic value. Instant coffee can also be a versatile and interesting ingredient to add coffee flavour to for desserts and bitterness to salty foods. Here are some ideas on how to cook with instant coffee!
Dry pickle
This dry marinade will give the steak a delicious, earthy, bitter-sharp flavour without overpowering the natural flavour of the meat. Mix a tablespoon of instant coffee with a tablespoon each of Maldon salt, garlic powder, with smoked paprika, with black pepper, with coriander, onion powder, chiliporral and food. Rub it over the steak and leave to stand for a few hours before cooking. Grill it on a high temperature on the grill or in a pan, let it rest for a while and then serve! The dry marinade will caramelise nicely and give the steak a nice depth of flavour.
Coffee pie
It's hard to beat a thick slice of coffee cake served with a hot cup of tea or coffee. In this coffee cake recipe, use instant coffee instead of freshly brewed, ground coffee. You can replace the cinnamon in the buttercream with instant coffee for a fuller coffee taste.
Tomato soup
Don't tell your Italian colleague, but a spoonful of instant coffee while cooking a ragu can wonderfully offset the sweetness of the tomatoes. The ragu will cook for a long time, and the umamit, which the beef, onions (Worcester or soy sauce) and tomatoes, instant coffee can take it up a notch. Try this casserole recipe as a base and add new depth to your dish.
Chilli
A really rich Mexican for chilli a tablespoon of instant coffee can also come in handy. In addition to the many different flavours, coffee adds a slightly bitter element to the dish, which can counterbalance other added flavours such as chocolate, liquor, pineapple, or whatever the recipe calls for. Cook slowly and at a low temperature for best results.
Tiramisu
Of course, one of the best Italian inventions, tiramisu, cannot be left out of the list. Although most recipes recommend espresso coffee for soaking the sponge, feel free to try it with instant coffee, or if you want a stronger effect, you can mix it with Kahlua. If you're having a lot of guests, so you're making a large batch of tiramisu and time is tight, instant coffee can save you precious minutes and no one will notice the difference. Considering that tiramisu one of the most popular desserts, you can save a lot of time in the long run with this method.
