Cooking with alcohol

[WakeUp]

Ok members of SR, give me your opinions.
I have some beef stew simmering on the stove. I always use red wine in beef stew. It just makes it better, imho. I really didn't think it was the best thing to do so early in recovery, but last night I bought a small bottle of red wine for the stew.

I've read about how long it takes for the alcohol to burn off when used in cooking, and it varies. Using alcohol in crepes Suzette when the alcohol is poured in, it flambes, the flames then die down and the dish is ready to be served, a lot of alcohol would be left, like 85%. In stews where the alcohol is in a braising liquid, only 5% of alcohol would be left after 2.5 hours.
With additional time, all the alcohol would be gone.

So, I put the red wine in the stew, rinsed the bottle and disposed of it. Funny thing is, the wine STANK! Ewww, I wouldn't want to drink that!
The stew has been cooking for 2.5 hours, but the vegetables have to cook, so it will be over three hours before it's done.

So, what's the opinion of the board? Does anybody risk cooking with alcohol?

[smacked]

You'll get lots of what you're looking for (opinions) about this issue ..

I *have* cooked with alcohol, but honestly I avoid it. Not really for the 'what percent is left in the dish' issue, but more the issue of having alcohol in my home.. I don't keep any here, nor will I. I have ordered food in restaurants that contain alcohol, like penne alla vodka, stews etc.. for ME it doesn't trigger me. I think it's great you've read about how much alcohol can be left when cooking, it's really important stuff to know for anyone truly wanting (and needing!) to live alcohol free.

I wouldn't have gone near it early in my sobriety though, i think the mental obsession piece would stick with me, that I had technically consumed x amount of alcohol etc.. that can be a make it or break it thing for some folks, and I absolutely respect the care people put into their sobriety. It doesn't add THAT much flavor anyways really..

[Ninsuna]

Thanks for the qestion, WakeUp. This had been on my mind with the holidays coming up, when alcohol seems to play a big role in a lot of my favorite recipes. I always use white wine along with irish style butter (the best there is) to baste my turkey, red wine for the roast at Christmas. My first sober holiday season is going to be an experience.
I've been meaning to do some research into the science of cooking w/ alcohol (what cooks off, etc) and if there are good substitutes. Cooking wine? red or white wine vinegar? I also plan to experiement w/ mulled cider, virgin egg nog recipes, I'll post anything I find that turns out really well.
Not to hijack, but as an aside; this is also my first Christmas back in the US and back with my ex-husband in three years. I want so much to do all the things we used to do and that I have missed being in a foreign country, divorced, and drunk.

[Ago]

Smacked pretty much nails it for me, I have cooked with alcohol, I have eaten sauces and stews with alcohol in them (cooked off), but overall I tend to avoid it.

Why play with fire?

[CarolD]

Here is the information....

Cooking and Alcohol

The conventional wisdom accepted by just about everyone in the food world is that all the alcohol you add to a dish evaporates or dissipates during cooking. It’s wrong. In fact, you have to cook something for a good three hours to eradicate virtually all traces of alcohol. And some cooking methods are less effective at removing alcohol than just letting it stand out uncovered overnight.

A study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Data Laboratory calculated the percentage of alcohol remaining in a dish based on various cooking methods. The results are as follows:


Preparation Method Percent of Alcohol Retained

alcohol added to boiling liquid & removed from heat 85%
alcohol flamed 75%
no heat, stored overnight 70%
baked, 25 minutes, alcohol not stirred into mixture 45%
baked/simmered, alcohol stirred into mixture:
15 minutes 40%
30 minutes 35%
1 hour 25%
1.5 hours 20%
2 hours 10%
2.5 hours 5%


And you can try these..
Booze Flavoring In Cooking
This was the September 2003 issue of theAA Grapevine.

Sweet or semisweet red wine - Carbonated cranberry drink.

Dry red wine - ½ cup carbonated cranberry drink, plus 1 Tbsp. lemon juice.

Sweet white wine - White grape juice plus 1 Tbsp. corn syrup.

Brandy - 1/4 cup apple juice plus 1 tsp brandy flavoring, or 1/4 cup apple cider with 1 tbsp peach or apricot syrup.

Rum - 1/4 cup apple juice plus 1 tbsp rum extract, or 1/4 cup pineapple juice or syrup flavored with 1 tbsp almond extract.

Sherry - Orange or pineapple juices with peach sirup.

Amaretto - 1 tbsp light corn syrup plus 1 tbsp almond extract and 1/4 cup clear apple juice.

Kirsch - Syrup or juices from cherries, raspberries, boysenberries, currnats or cider.

I have quit drinking or eating alcohol years ago.
Instead of the wine....I use beef bullion. ...no one
has complained yet.....

[Ninsuna]

That list is great Carol, thanks!

[ElegantlyWasted]

We have another great thread somewhere on thiss too. What I got out of it was...regardless of cooking method and type of alcohol you get about the alcohol content of a no alch beer on a per serving basis for most recipes. That being said, it is a potential trigger for some and should probablybe avoided early on in "recovery". There are alot of great subs for any give type of liquor. I personally have choosen to avoid cooking w it for the forseable future; yet do not grill wait staff ( no pun intended) when eating out. Out of mind out of site, seems to have worked as far as avoiding a potential placebo trigger. The obsession of the mind thing hit me big time
when I even begin associating alch w food.

[WakeUp]

Thanks Carol, that was exactly the reference chart I was looking at.
Well, the beef stew is delicious, but I will be very careful with cooking. Having the bottle of wine sitting here all night didn't really bother me, I was content with my green tea, but still it's not a good habit to get into. I only use wine in a couple of braising type dishes.
I certainly wouldn't eat something like rum cake or anything like that.

[JJB]

Wake up i've been wondering the same thing about christmas cake and christmas pudding.


Does christmas cake or pudding without booze in it keep for as long?

[Mark75]

I love to cook and have used wine rather freely in the past... I love(d) gravies and sauces prepared with wine. I don't do that anymore, It really hasn't made a big difference... I love to experiment with spices, then and now... I find I'm getting better with the spice selection and amount.

One big exception... Sherry... Oh I do miss that flavor, never cared much for it in the glass, just certain food... poultry, game, turkey tetrazinni... Thankfully it has a strong flavor and not much is used. There is cooking sherry in the cabinet (and my wife keeps a bottle of her Reisling cold in the fridge.... but that's another thread ). I have simmered the sherry for a good while separately before using... but I usually just pass on using it at all unless it really has to be there... like certain game birds and mushrooms... mmmm.... but that's only during hunting season... then I simmer the alcohol off first...

So, there's my 2 cents

Mark

[Dime]

I am at a point where I am comfortable with my sobriety. Others can drink around me at a social event that I need to be at and it doesn't bother me. But for me personally I avoid being around alcohol as much as practical. Every time I am around alcohol my brain notices the alcohol and remembers it. Because I am an alcoholic there is a very powerful part of my brain that still wants to tell me that alcohol will solve all my problems. It will be there for the rest of my life. I don't want to strengthen the part of my mind that makes me an alcoholic.

In early sobriety I was especially concerned.

[Carol87]

I just posted this in another forum ... link includes additional alcohol substitutes ...

I don't knowingly eat foods prepared with alcohol, nor do I cook with alcohol ... many recipes, especially on the Food Channel, use wine, etc. so I found an alcohol substitute site on the Internet that I thought others might like ... GourmetSleuth - Substitutes for Alcohol in Cooking