The art of pairing food with beverages is more complicated than it sounds. Which cheese goes with which wine, which snacks taste good with beer — a lot of contemplation goes behind serving food and drink together. When it comes to mead, the rules of pairing are quite similar to wine pairings. Dry meads go well with dinner, sweet meads can be served with a dessert, and sparkling meads fare well on their own.

If you are throwing a party and planning to serve mead with food, this information will come in handy. Here is how to pair mead with food like a pro:

• Pair dry mead with cheese

Wine with cheese is the most loved combination. But, have you ever tried dry mead with cheese?

The combination of cheese with dry mead always stands apart. Be creative and decide the type of cheese for yourself. A barrel-aged mead with a hint of residual spirits flavor works best with cheese. Dry meads, like hopped cysers and blueberry show meads, also enhance the entire experience.

You can also try combining sweeter meads with cheese.

• Mix spicy and fruity flavors

Spice and fruit is a very refreshing and animating combination. The tangy and sweet flavors of fruit always complement the spicy flavors.

Try pairing Mexican food with Melomel meads that have sweet and fruity flavors, or a spicy capsicumel mead with a light and fruity sauce for an invigorating blast of flavors on your palette.

• Fruit meads with salads

Meads with salads is another perfect combination. For this, select meads that have semi-sweet to sweet tones. Think of flavors like rhubarb, strawberry, and citrus. Light raspberry and cranberry flavors also work well with salads.

Apart from fruit, consider pairing your floral mead with a salad.

• Cyser meads with meat

One of the most interesting pairings is mead and meat. To make this pairing more captivating, use a cyser mead to marinate the meat, especially pork or chicken. Take the rest of the mead with your meal.

Cysers contain apples or apple juice with honey. These flavors go well with an array of meat dishes. This superb pairing will enhance the flavors by manifolds.

• Fruit meads and desserts

Pairing fruit meads with fruit-based desserts is a great idea. The sweetness of fruit-based desserts works well with the meads made from the same fruit.

A dry strawberry-rhubarb mead can be paired with a sweet strawberry shortcake, or a sweet strawberry-rhubarb mead can be paired with a tart rhubarb cobbler.

The fruit mead and fruit dessert combination always work.

• Sparkling mead and finger food

Another delicious mead and food combination is sparkling mead and finger food.

Although sparkling mead goes well on its own, combining it with delicious snacks take the flavors to an altogether different level. If you are hosting a party, serve sparkling meads with salty crackers or chips.

The bottom line

Pairing meads with food is not at all complicated. There are a few basic rules to swear by and you are good to go. Always remember, pair dark mead with dark food and light mead with light food. So, if you are serving a dark and heavy meal, like steaks, chili, or stew, pair it with a darker mead, and service fish and chicken with dry and lighter mead. And, for the in-between or medium foods, stick to fruity meads.

So, now that you know how to pair mead with food like a pro, take out your honey mead, plan a palatable menu, and invite your friends for an amazing party!