Do you ever ask yourself why you crave a savoury salty snack when having a drink of beer?
Well, here at Order.Beer we have the answer to this, it’s because when we consume salty food the receptors on our tongues that detect bitterness are reduced. So, in fact salt neutralises the bitter taste and the resulting factor is that the beer can taste smoother and you can pick up other characteristics in a beers taste sensation profile.
In times gone by the only choices you had for a beer snack especially in a public house environment were peanuts, crisps and the odd jar filled with eggs in pickle that you almost dare not to ask for let alone eat one along an accompaniment to a beer.
Well, it pleases us to now say times have changed and modern beer snacks have evolved, and you can now have a plethora of snacks both at home and in the pub. Could there be some that you haven’t thought about or indeed forgotten about that this article might even tempt you into trying again.
The Scotch Egg
These are now available in all shapes and sizes, from bitesize nibbles to large covered eggs off the shelf. Your best way by far is opting for the artisan made direct from the deli made from a number of different sausage meat varieties or indeed you could make your own for that weekend or even mid-week treat. We’ll follow up with a number of recipes for you to try in another article soon.
Flavoured Nuts, Seeds, Crisps, Popcorn and Fries
From salted to chilli nuts, sesame seed thins to bacon and scampi fries. The options in the small snack pack variety are now endless. There is something to suit every palette and beverage and they are a definite favourite as a beer accompaniment.
Whilst eating crisps, nuts, popcorn, fries or anything salty, there’s one beer that will never let you down. Savoury snacks are a good pairing with perhaps a lager or pilsner as they help to cleanse the palate and offer a crisp, refreshing ease from salt.
Nuts and beer are also considered a particularly healthy pairing, if consumed in moderate amounts of course. According to Men's Health, nuts help to reduce the bad cholesterol levels while increasing healthy cholesterol, while alcohol helps reduce blood clots by functioning as a blood thinner.
The Pork Scratching
The scratching believed to have originated in the 1800s in the West Midlands of England and started their life as the food of the working classes, where families kept their own pigs at home and feeding them up for the slaughter. When people couldn’t afford to waste any part of the animal and either by design or trial and error the scratching was born. Nowadays, they come in all manner of shapes, sizes and levels of crunchiness and are a firm favourite beer accompaniment with over twenty million bags sold in the UK every year – now that is some scratching consumption.
The Peperami – it’s a bit of an animal they say..
Way back in the 80s, the green foil packs had a picture of a glass of beer on them with a Peperami stick either in the glass or in front of it marketing it as a great pairing with beer of any nature. Purchase off the shelf with plenty of brands to choose from to eat alongside your tipple of choice.
So, after all this talk of snacking, are you feeling a bit peckish and wondering now what snacks you be pairing with your chosen beer selection from Order.Beer?