Turning over a new leaf: Tea revived as trendy ingredient in dishes (1/2ページ)

Tea - from ancient Asian brew to stodgy English drink to today's health elixir - changes its image as easily as a runway model. Its latest incarnation: trendy ingredient.

Today, tea is enjoying a revival as a seasoning, tenderizer, rub and marinade for a mishmash of dishes, from green beans to cakes.

"The Chinese began cooking with tea at the same time they began drinking it," said Diana Rosen, Los Angeles-based author of several tea cookbooks, including "Cooking With Tea." "We are rediscovering what they knew centuries ago: Tea makes food taste better."

Why now?

Health-seeking Americans are being drawn in record numbers to tea's good-for-you qualities, from helping to ward off cancer and heart disease to building bone density. Tea sales last year topped $6.2 billion, more than quadruple their level in the early 1990s, according to the Tea Council of the USA.

At the same time, flavor seekers are turning to tea for culinary thrills.

"Tea adds wonderful flavor undertones, similar to herbs and spices," said Charlie Romano, a vegan-organic chef at the Mandala Tea Room in Scottsdale, Ariz. "The health benefits are just another bonus."

Tea flavors range through floral, earthy, grassy, astringent, clean and brisk, to deep and hearty.

Modern-day applications for cooking with tea are surprisingly similar to those of the ancient Chinese, who stuffed fish with dried, pungent oolong leaves before steaming, and infused boiling water while boiling eggs.

Both tea leaves and brewed tea can be used in cooking. Dried leaves work best as a flavorful rub for fish, poultry, pork and beef. Use only loose tea leaves, not the finely crushed (and less flavorful) contents of brewing bags.

"Treat tea like you would any other ingredient. Go for quality, the best you can afford, because quality matters," Romano said.