Cooking and pairing food with coffee seen as a coming culinary trend

Cooking with coffee isn't new. But with all the varieties now available in the marketplace, using coffee as a food, along with pairing different coffees with specific foods, is undergoing a resurgence in popularity.

"My 93-year-old grandmother in her generation cooked with coffee a lot," says Trish Magwood, owner-operator of Dish, a Toronto cooking school and culinary centre. "Her original recipe for Mocha Mousse, which I refined a little (for this story), was made with instant coffee."

She's right. In Kate Aitken's "Canadian Cook Book" first published in 1945, and then reprinted by Whitecap in 2004, there was a Coffee Custard recipe. And Edna Staebler's Coffee Almond Tarts appeared in her "More Food That Really Schmecks" (McClelland and Stewart) in 1979.

The use of coffee as food goes back to its earliest history. Coffee is a fruit of an evergreen bush, and it resembles a bitter cherry. Among the tribes of Ethiopia, where coffee originates, coffee was often eaten rather than drunk, according to Antony Wild's "Coffee: A Dark History." Coffee is now widely grown in high-altitude tropical regions.

Magwood believes that the use of coffee as food has made a comeback of sorts because there are so many different blends now "that it is not just how do you pair coffee, but how do you pair specific coffees to specific foods?"

People, she says, are delving much deeper into single products like coffee and chocolate.

"They are learning more about the product and the variations," she says. "It's not just about drinking coffee or eating chocolate. It's about 70 per cent dark chocolate or a South American dark roast or a light African blended coffee.

"I think people are becoming more sophisticated because they have more choices and their palates are expanding," she says.

The pairing trend is also happening with tea, wine, cheese and other foods and beverages, she adds.

"It used to be with wine you drank red or white. Now some individuals will drink only Pinots from Burgundy or Rioja from Spain," Magwood notes. "They are starting to get really particular."

As a result, the coffee industry is taking notice, she says.

Here is a sample of Magwood's coffee pairing notes:

Cheddar, Spinach and Tomato Omelette: "A traditional medium dark roast blend with bold European style stands up to aged cheddar and oven-roasted tomatoes."

Grilled Chili Pressed Striploin Steak with Spicy Broccolini and Sweet Potato Fries: "Ground peppers and a big flavoured steak needs the power of the seriously dark and robust Columbian with balance to not overpower the sweet potato fries."

Frozen Mocha Mousse Spiked with Crushed Whole Espresso Beans: "Sip an espresso after dessert and let the flavours linger."

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Judy Creighton welcomes letters at 9 Kinnell St., Hamilton, Ont., L8R 2J8, but cannot promise to answer all correspondence personally. She can also be reached by e-mail at jcreighton(at)golden.net.

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Add coffee to a luscious Mocha Mousse and enjoy a cup with crumbly Cranberry Apricot Buttermilk Scones.

For the mousse, Old World European-style espresso beans work well with the richness of the cream. The coffee flavour pairs nicely with the toasted almonds.

The scones, which are studded with dried fruit, make a nice treat teamed with mid-morning coffee.