What should I eat with drinks?

 Recently, I've written a Turkish post for my blog. One of my friends told me that that post should be in English too. So, I decided to write in the English version of this post. Sometimes I can't decide what should I eat with wine, beer, or a cocktail. I assume that everybody has experienced that one time in their life. Especially, for a romantic dinner... In this post, I would like to share with you guys a small guide for what you should eat with each drink. However; I need to say that I am not an expert or a gourmet. These recommendations cames from a general perception and my taste. 

1- Beer  🍻

Beer has a large group of fans in the world general. The reason could be its price or taste I am not a hundred percent sure but, like its fans, beer also has a lot of alternatives aperitives to eat its side. People would rather eat crispy and salty things with a beer. My recommendations will be; 

Olives

French fries (could be any kind of fried potato-like; patatas bravas)

Pickles 

Fish (anchovy, canned fish).

In Turkey, beer is generally consumed with popcorn and pickles in the places. After I have visited a couple of countries, I realized that aperitives are kind of a part of the culture. I adore Spanish TAPAS in that sense. I wish it would be in Turkey. Well, aperitives depend on people to people, country to country. For example, once, I ate a fried egg with a beer. That's why for aperitives you need to listen to your taste. 

2- Wine 🍷

It is classic that appears a cheese image in your mind after hearing the word wine. However; wine also has a lot of aperitif alternatives to eat. My recommendations are; 

Nuts

Fresh fruits 

Toasted bread with creamy aperitives. 

If you would like to drink wine with a meal, I will follow the general taste and recommend white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat. In addition to that, you can eat every kind of pasta with wine. These two have a nice combination of taste. On the other hand, I prefer to consume wine with toasted bread (could be breadstick or grassini) and dip souse appetizers. Like; hummus and cheese fondu. 

3- Cocktails 🍸

Cocktails are not served with too many aperitifs, as they already contain a lot of sugar and sweet flavors. Still, with classical cocktails such as Gin-Tonik, Bacardi, Martini; 

Berry fruits 

Crackers

Canapes made with fish and seafood can be preferred. 

4- Rakı 🧊 🍴

Rakı is traditional alcohol in Turkey, Greece, and the Balkans. The argument which country has the origin is still continued with these countries. Except it is the origin, rakı is not the alcohol I can drink, but I can eat everything on this table with great pleasure. Most of the appetizers in my country are reserved for it. I would love to explore Greece and the Balkans in terms of appetizers. We are the best in this regard as I haven't seen it yet. Although I love all appetizers, I also consulted those who love it, as I cannot help you with what to eat with raki. So I will share them with you;

Cheese (Feta cheese)

Melon, watermelon

Appetizer (Haydari, Fava, Lakerda, Şakşuka, Hot mash ..)

Fried shrimp.

These are the drinks and aperitifs I have tried that are good for my taste. I hope you liked this article, which I have prepared to share my ideas with you and to contribute to your choices a little bit, never being a gourmet or an expert on the subject. See you in my next article.

Enjoy your meal!

Bon apetit 👌