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Alcohol in Food

Old 02-01-2010, 09:59 PM
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Alcohol in Food

I just had some Tiramasu and I guess there was some alcohol in it. Almost none but I could taste it. Is that bad? It really didn't do anything to me, make me crave anything, or affect me negatively, but I could taste it for sure.

So what do you all think about food with alcohol in it? I mean if I was at a restaurant now and I ordered something I would lean towards stuff without alcohol, but in this scenario it was the only desert available.

It would be a terrible thing to relapse from lady fingers....

I eat marinara with wine but it is cooked out, like chicken marsala has no alcohol content, but my understanding is that the tiramasu does has a little brandy in it now that I googled it.
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Old 02-01-2010, 10:14 PM
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That's a pretty interesting topic, and something I hadn't thought about much until today. We were talking about vodka sauce in the chatroom, and I decided to stay away from beer battered brats.

Time to add Tiramasu to the list, which is a shame, cause that's yummy.
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Old 02-01-2010, 10:14 PM
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One friend of mine is 9 years sober and he cooks with wine at home, it is a standing joke that we have seen J walking down the street with a bottle of wine...

Another friend, at xmas dinner, is 23 years sober she eat 2 and a half xmas puddings as they come with the brandy butter and with the brandy that they normally put in xmas puds...

Other friends with years of sobriety would not touch either food with wine or puddings with alcohol with a ten foot bargepole...

Those are their choices, two things they all have in common is that they are recovered alcoholics and would all say that a person in early sobriety (first couple of years) would have to be out of their mind to have anything to do with alcohol whatsoever, cooked out or in a pudding...hope that helps:-)
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Old 02-01-2010, 10:17 PM
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Well.....
I don't delibertly eat food with alcohol.
Why would I? I'm a non drinker.

You might find these facts interesting....
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.
When I watch the Food Network and some cooks pour
wine into a dish.....saying...."It's burns off" I cringe.
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Old 02-02-2010, 02:43 AM
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Hi there
This is interesting as I went for Sunday lunch a couple of days ago at a pub. There was lots of specials on the board and most had alcohol in them, so I chose the one that didn't say it had alcohol in it...Lamb Casserole. However my hubby had a taste of it and said...thats got wine in it...I was a bit miffed about it as I had chosen carefully...BUT...I'm happy to say it didn't affect me at all...still sober!
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Old 02-02-2010, 03:57 AM
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In all things I check my motives, did I seek out something with alcohol in it or did I eat/drink it thinking it was alcohol free?

Was you motive pure in eating that, or did you know and order it to have a teeny bit just to see what would happen?

I am sure I have eaten stuff at resteraunts that had alcohol in them, but it was not mentioned on the menu, nor did I order or eat it because I wanted to tempt fate. I avoid all foods and drinks I KNOW have alcohol in them.

That is just me, and like others have mentioned there are some recovered alcoholics that do on occasion use wine to cook & others that would never dream of it, I personally find other things that provide a similar flavor to cook with.
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Old 02-02-2010, 05:19 AM
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It wouldn't bother me at all, but I know of people taking Antabuse for their alcoholism and they have to avoid all alcohol, even in mouthwash and such, to avoid the severe reaction from the medication.
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Old 02-02-2010, 05:20 AM
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When did you realise it had alcohol in it? I think that is what you have to ask yourself honestly.

There are loads of foods which don't have alcohol in them so there really is no reason to eat alcohol, unless you want to.
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Old 02-02-2010, 05:43 AM
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I had no idea there was alcohol in it. I noticed when I tasted it, but it was only in a small amount of the desert.I have suffered no ill effects and I do not have a desire to drink, nor did I at the time of consumption.

I will not go out of my way to order foods with alcohol, but if something like this happens again I think it won't bother me too much. That being said for at least the next 90 days to a year I won't be having tiramasu.
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Old 02-02-2010, 05:52 AM
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To each his own. Some who are in monitoring programs will need to be VERY careful, as some of the alcohol tests are very sensitive and can detect alcohol taken up to days before.

I don't get all worried about it. I was out to dinner on New Years with my wife and our good friends. We split appetizers. Turns out the mussels came in wine and herbs. Hmmm... I drained them carefully and only had a few... Didn't bother me, make me crave or threaten my sobriety, but I would not have ordered those knowingly.

So I avoid those foods, but I don't freak out if it turns out that alcohol was used in the preparation. If I knew I was up for a test, though, the following day (it was new years)... ain't no way.

Mark
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Old 02-02-2010, 05:59 AM
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For me..........food that's been cooked with an alcoholic ingredient doesn't bother me. I think they are delicious. The alcohol is cooked out, it's not going to get me drunk.

Check your head, that's what I can tell you. I don't know how much clean time you have but I know that usually when people start questioning things like this it's even better to ask yourself why YOU are asking the question.

It's my experience that the relapse starts way before we pick up.
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Old 02-02-2010, 06:09 PM
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Thanks, Carol for the tips on substituting for alcohol in cooking. I was going through my Italian cookbook a week or so ago, and had to skip at least a third of the recipes. But I do miss Chicken Marsala. I am going to try the cranberry-lemon juice substitute the next time I want to make it to see how it works out.
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Old 02-02-2010, 11:19 PM
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I adore tiramisu and always have. I like the flat kind they serve at Olive Garden. I wonder what that is prepared with? It is something a child could order, so I wonder... I don't recall that it has any particular taste of alcohol.
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Old 02-03-2010, 12:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Anodyne View Post
Time to add Tiramasu to the list, which is a shame, cause that's yummy.

For the OP, yes Tiramasu has alcohol in it. I do believe it is vodka??? I cannot remember, but I learned of it, after years of enjoying it at my favorite italian restaurant. I never tasted the alcohol in it myself. And I think it can be made without it. Dunno if it's good or not? IDK. Hadn't had it in more than a year.
I don't know if it's cooked out like most things made with alcohol, when they are cooked. Or how long it takes to cook out, if it can be at all??? I sort of think of it along the lines of how I make my toy coloring for my bird toys. I use rubbing alcohol instead of water, which could get moldy, and hard them birds, when drying, versus the alcohol, which dries off, leaving the color behind. And the dyes made with water take longer to dry than the ones with rubbing alcohol. But again, that's rubbing alcohol. Not the stuff people drink.. IDK. Great subject. Something to really think about.
I completely understand not wanting to even go near foods that were made with alcohol though. Surely, most of them can be made with a substitute or just leaving it out altogether???
Maybe we should do a search for Tiramasu online.
And the only reason I quoted you, Anodyne, was cuz I couldn't remember how to spell Tiramasu. LOLOLOLOL
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Old 02-03-2010, 08:05 AM
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Looking back I have had two dishes with alcohol and not even thought of it until now. My friend in AA's girlfriend made us chicken marsala. My mom also uses wine in her marinara sauce, both of which are cooked down quite a bit.

I spoke to several AA's last night and we came to the conclusion that it is a personal choice, most people are not bothered by it, but it would become a problem if one was seeking out food with alcohol in it.

I really thought about this because my mom knew an alcoholic in recovery about 15 years ago and this woman came over for dinner and wouldn't eat the marinara sauce because it had wine in it.

And to crackquack, I am a biology student, I use ethyl alcohol on a regular basis for the preservation of living things or to use in chemistry, but it is not a big deal. Once two years ago I had a short lived thought of taking a shot of it as I worked diligently in a laboratory for 6 hours identifying macro-invertebrates, but I definitely did not for a variety of reasons. This stuff is pretty much pure alcohol, like everclear. I think it would be on par with taking a shot of 87 octane lol.
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Old 02-03-2010, 10:19 AM
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Originally Posted by NEJeeper View Post
So what do you all think about food with alcohol in it?
Personal choice. It you're not bothered by it, then go ahead and enjoy. I wouldn't avoid a food just because it was cooked with or may contain alcohol. I don't drink anymore. I do still eat.Food doesn't get me drunk. Drinking did.

JMO

*Tiramisu can be made without alcohol.Originally it was. It usually contains rum,Marsala (if the zabaglione was made with it)or perhaps Kahlua or other coffee flavored liqueur.I've never had tiramisu made with vodka but I guess it could be out there, depending on the recipe or chef.
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Old 02-03-2010, 10:58 AM
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Originally Posted by NEJeeper View Post
And to crackquack, I am a biology student, I use ethyl alcohol on a regular basis for the preservation of living things or to use in chemistry, but it is not a big deal. Once two years ago I had a short lived thought of taking a shot of it as I worked diligently in a laboratory for 6 hours identifying macro-invertebrates, but I definitely did not for a variety of reasons. This stuff is pretty much pure alcohol, like everclear. I think it would be on par with taking a shot of 87 octane lol.
Whoa. Like everclear? Ya learn something new every day, and I actually got a good shot of 93 octane yesterday. I finally decided to drain my car (blown head gasket) to give the truck its gas and the little bulb was busted on the hose, so I disconnect it and suck like I did when I was younger and apparently it's been a while. YUCK! No, GROSS! DISGUSTING! 93 octane does not taste good and I do not recommend it at all! The worst part is that I couldn't keep the flow going! Ugh! There is 10 gallons in there and I want it! :rotfxko
Ok, sorry about being off topic.. But it was a funny moment. The boyfriend asked if I was born in a barn cuz I come hauling booty, in the house, leaving the door open to go brush my teeth and mouth.. And I told him I drank that gas! EWWWW!
Didn't swallow, I don't think, any of it, but it was just awful in my mouth.
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Old 02-03-2010, 11:10 AM
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This recipe for tiramisu sounds delicious and I am not really all that sure I would miss the alcohol.
Tiramisù
From The Best of Bugiali (Canada, UK), by Giuliano Bigiali.

Ingredients:
6 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
6 heaping tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 pound mascarpone cheese or 1/2 pound ricotta plus 1 cup heavy cream, blended very well in a food processor until a light cream forms
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
24 very crisp Italian ladyfingers
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon confectioners' sugar
2 cups strong espresso coffee, cooled
Instructions:
Bring water to a boil in the bottom of a double boiler.
Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a crockery or glass bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is completely dissolved and the egg yolks turn a lighter color. Add the milk and mix thoroughly. Transfer the egg mixture to the top part of the double boiler and insert it over the boiling water. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, always in the same direction, until the cream is thick enough to coat the spoon, just before the mixture is about to start to boil. Absolutely do not allow the mixture to boil. Immediately remove the top part of the double boiler from the heat. Continue to stir for 1 minute longer, then transfer the crema to a crockery or glass bowl to cool, about 1 hour.
Place the mascarpone or ricotta cream mixture in the bowl of a food processor, add the cooled crema and blend very well until a very smooth and light cream forms. Refrigerate until needed.
Chop the chocolate coarsely. Place the ladyfingers in one layer in a jelly-roll pan.
Whip the heavy cream, granulated sugar and confectioners sugar in a chilled metal bowl with a wire whisk. Add the cooled crema-mascarpone and whisk very well.
Soak the ladyfingers with the cold coffee and gently transfer 12 of them to a 14-inch "trifle" bowl. Spread half of the cream on top of the ladyfingers, then sprinkle on half of the chocolate. Make one more layer with the remaining ingredients, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Yield: Serves 12

Last edited by Dee74; 02-03-2010 at 10:21 PM. Reason: removed commercial links
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Old 02-03-2010, 11:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Mark75 View Post
To each his own. Some who are in monitoring programs will need to be VERY careful, as some of the alcohol tests are very sensitive and can detect alcohol taken up to days before.

Mark
This is something I was thinking about. My favorite food of all time, tournedos aux champignons, is made with alcohol, and I usually have it in May, but I am sure I will still be on a monitoring program then, so I guess I'll be skipping it.
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Old 02-03-2010, 05:17 PM
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I personally would avoid it at all costs, I wouldn't want any alcohol in my system at all via food or any other means. No mouthwash and I'm even careful about which facewipes/make up remover wipes I use because most of them have a lot of alcohol in them.
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