Onion rings, flavouring profile

Onion rings, flavouring profile

Onion rings are sweet onion inside crisp, fried batter, and they want what all fried food wants, acidity and bubbles, with a little fruit to meet the sweetness.

The compounds that matter. Frying fat and batter, which coat the palate and ask for acidity or bubbles to lift them. The natural sugars of onion, released by cooking, which make a lean, bone dry wine taste thin and sour. A faint sulphurous bite in the onion that survives the fryer.

What it demands of a wine. High acidity, bubbles if possible, and a touch of fruit or sweetness. Light body. No oak and no tannin, which the fat and sweetness make coarse.

Seek. Riesling Sekt from Germany, off dry and sharp, whose bubbles and faint sweetness suit both halves of an onion ring. Franciacorta from Lombardy, dry and fine, for onion rings beside a steak or burger. Pale rosé made from Pinot Noir, crisp and red fruited. Chenin Blanc from California, dry, bright and appley.

Avoid

Oaked, buttery whites, which make fried food feel heavier. Tannic reds, which turn coarse against the sweet onion and batter.

Three to reach for. Off dry Riesling Sekt, Germany. Franciacorta, Lombardy, Italy. Pale Pinot Noir rosé, France.