Alcohol in Cooking?
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 51
Alcohol in Cooking?
I would like to know what you think of alcohol as an ingredient in a recipe.
Examples: wine in cheese fondue, rum in rum cake...
I can probably get by avoiding many, many recipes that call for alcohol, except for the cheese fondue
I live in Switzerland, and it's a national tradition and staple food that we eat at least 3-4 times a month in the winter.
Not only that, I freaking LOVE it.
Hubs just suggested that apple juice can be a wine substitute for the cheese fondue, so that's a viable option- but I still want to know what you folks do
Examples: wine in cheese fondue, rum in rum cake...
I can probably get by avoiding many, many recipes that call for alcohol, except for the cheese fondue
I live in Switzerland, and it's a national tradition and staple food that we eat at least 3-4 times a month in the winter.
Not only that, I freaking LOVE it.
Hubs just suggested that apple juice can be a wine substitute for the cheese fondue, so that's a viable option- but I still want to know what you folks do
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 2,966
I've seen this here before in my years..It's kinda like the 'weed thing' to me. I still use it. I'm a cook that never eats,if you will,because when I'm making something special to me for guests, I'm constantly tasting my dish,so I'm full when it's done. LOL BUT, yes..I still use booze/beer when I'm cooking. Not that you should or anything,but I do.
*edit*: Like your fondue dip, is what I'm saying type cooking. I'm not dumping a liter of vodka over a hamburger daily or anything.
*edit*: Like your fondue dip, is what I'm saying type cooking. I'm not dumping a liter of vodka over a hamburger daily or anything.
You're not shackled to not drinking, you're free from drinking
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: MN
Posts: 1,406
This has been asked a number of times. Sorry I don't have links. But I was surprised by the amount of alcohol that is left. But it really is a personal choice if alcohol in food bothers you. Personally it's usually so little that I don't worry about it. But others see it as a big no no.
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Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Norfolk, VA
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I had to make massive changes to support my decision to get sober. Decisions about the places I went, the activities I engaged in, the people I hung out with, the food I ate, and the food I prepared.
The foundation for those decisions was I no longer consumed alcohol.
There are those who have probably maintained their sobriety cooking and consuming food with alcohol as an ingredient. Fine.
But I ask you, if you can't even make the change to remove cheese fondue from your list of things you cook, what other change won't you make. And while cheese fondue might not be the change that you recovery depends on...the other ones you don't make might be.
The foundation for those decisions was I no longer consumed alcohol.
There are those who have probably maintained their sobriety cooking and consuming food with alcohol as an ingredient. Fine.
But I ask you, if you can't even make the change to remove cheese fondue from your list of things you cook, what other change won't you make. And while cheese fondue might not be the change that you recovery depends on...the other ones you don't make might be.
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Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 5,700
I cook every day, well almost, and every once in a while use alcohol. Often I'll substitute some type of broth, but there are some dishes that such a substitution significantly changes the taste. I've looked up the stats on residual alcohol content for the dishes I use and the leftover amount is minimal and it's never caused me to have any cravings. That's just me, of course, and you and others reading this may react differently.
Granted the preceding paragraph is a little wishy-washy so in summation I do cook with alcohol when I know it's going to have an impact on the taste of the dish and doing so has never been a trigger for me.
Granted the preceding paragraph is a little wishy-washy so in summation I do cook with alcohol when I know it's going to have an impact on the taste of the dish and doing so has never been a trigger for me.
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Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,504
Alcohol doesn't really burn off in cooking. It's obviously a personal choice, but I avoid food containing alcohol. Apple juice is a substitute and beef/chicken broth are also good for flavour. This from Feed Your Brain:
The highest rates of retention were with alcohol added to boiling liquid and then shortly after removed from heat. In this case, the alcohol retention rate was around 85%.
The second highest alcohol retention rate came when using the flaming method of cooking, which resulted in around a 75% retention level.
When using no heat and storing overnight, about 70% of the alcohol was retained.
When baked for 25 minutes with the mixture not being stirred, the retention rate was 45%.
When baked/simmered where the mixture is stirred, produced the following results:
15 minutes 40%
30 minutes 35%
1 hour 25%
1.5 hours 20%
2 hours 10%
2.5 hours 5%
I use apple juice sometimes
The highest rates of retention were with alcohol added to boiling liquid and then shortly after removed from heat. In this case, the alcohol retention rate was around 85%.
The second highest alcohol retention rate came when using the flaming method of cooking, which resulted in around a 75% retention level.
When using no heat and storing overnight, about 70% of the alcohol was retained.
When baked for 25 minutes with the mixture not being stirred, the retention rate was 45%.
When baked/simmered where the mixture is stirred, produced the following results:
15 minutes 40%
30 minutes 35%
1 hour 25%
1.5 hours 20%
2 hours 10%
2.5 hours 5%
I use apple juice sometimes
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 2,966
Originally Posted by Bunny211 
tiramisu.
:Edit: Chili is my main dish I use beer for. It's 2 low APB beers for flavor. No different than the garlic. I've been making it this way for 30yrs? I will try the apple juice suggestion next time with a personal batch though. Never thought of that.
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Join Date: May 2013
Location: UK
Posts: 2,057
A friend of mine who is a decade sober once vomited after eating tiramisu , he didn't know what it was so wasn't intentional.
It's down to you although personally I would tread with caution, our bodies can react to even the smallest amount of alcohol.
It's down to you although personally I would tread with caution, our bodies can react to even the smallest amount of alcohol.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 51
This is all very informative- especially the charts with the cooking times and alcohol levels.
I think I will definitely opt for the apple juice in cheese fondue the next time we make it.
I imagine that alcohol free wine might also be a useful substitution for the flavour...
I was very concerned about making "exceptions" for cooking with alcohol, because as many of you have pointed out, in my mind, booze is booze.
Whether it's being swallowed down in a glass, or sprinkled into my fondue- I know I will have a very guilty conscious if I use it as an ingredient.
Luckily I have a chef husband, so I'm sure he'll help me find suitable recipes that don't require alcohol!
I think I will definitely opt for the apple juice in cheese fondue the next time we make it.
I imagine that alcohol free wine might also be a useful substitution for the flavour...
I was very concerned about making "exceptions" for cooking with alcohol, because as many of you have pointed out, in my mind, booze is booze.
Whether it's being swallowed down in a glass, or sprinkled into my fondue- I know I will have a very guilty conscious if I use it as an ingredient.
Luckily I have a chef husband, so I'm sure he'll help me find suitable recipes that don't require alcohol!
ours de petit cerveau
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: London, UK
Posts: 1,630
some alcohol *can* burn off in cooking, for example when something is flambeed & you get great flames leaping from the pan after sloshing a spirit into it & setting it alight. this won't burn anything like all of it off though, which is fairly obvious if you think about it - no-one tries to flame the Xmas pudding with regular wine.
the trick to getting the rest (or at least the vast majority) of the alcohol out is to *reduce* the cooking liquid that the alcohol has been added to so that it *evaporates* off. this works on the same principle as distillation - the boiling (ie evaporation) point of alcohol is around 80C, so this will be driven off before the water starts to evaporate at 100C. obviously this won't work if you leave the pan lid on!
the trick to getting the rest (or at least the vast majority) of the alcohol out is to *reduce* the cooking liquid that the alcohol has been added to so that it *evaporates* off. this works on the same principle as distillation - the boiling (ie evaporation) point of alcohol is around 80C, so this will be driven off before the water starts to evaporate at 100C. obviously this won't work if you leave the pan lid on!
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 8,674
Originally Posted by sunshine72
I use it in recipes and make sure that it the alcohol cooks out first. I LOVE cheese fondue!
Alcohol cooking guidelines.jpg
Personally, I avoid all alcohol in food. That's just my comfort level- just don't want it in my body; I don't worry about it being a trigger. Alcohol just isn't part of my life. I do my research on menus ahead of time, I never cook with it, and sauces, dressings, risotto (certainly fondue), desserts....plenty of stuff to avoid, or change up if possible (don't know that apple juice is a good sub there though!) - or just plenty of other stuff to enjoy. If I don't trust a server or mgr's answers to my questions, I don't order the thing in question.
If I were to accidentally consume some, I wouldn't freak out bc my intent was not to drink - I'd just stop eating and ask for the dish to be removed.
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Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 177
I'm super into cooking and you know there's a bunch of dishes that I'm sad to let go, bolognese for example. But ultimately I think it would put my recovery in jeapordy so the way I think is there's a million other delicious things to cook which don't have alcohol and are no risk. However, this is alcohol itself, other products have trace amounts in them and I'm fine with that. I think there's a difference to some vinegar having 1 in 1000 of a unit in it and having a bottle of wine in my kitchen.
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 666
I know this has been covered many times in the past, but I'd never seen that chart before. So thank you. Interesting. I had no idea so much alcohol was retained. Always thought it "all burned off".
Last Sunday at church, I dipped the communion wafer a little farther by accident than I usually do in the chalice of wine. The taste of that red wine in my mouth afterward really bothered me. It was no more than a drop or two, so surprising how it stuck with me. Even into the afternoon I remembered the taste. Obviously the amount was tiny, but it triggered something.
Just an observation..
Last Sunday at church, I dipped the communion wafer a little farther by accident than I usually do in the chalice of wine. The taste of that red wine in my mouth afterward really bothered me. It was no more than a drop or two, so surprising how it stuck with me. Even into the afternoon I remembered the taste. Obviously the amount was tiny, but it triggered something.
Just an observation..
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Join Date: May 2013
Location: UK
Posts: 2,057
Originally Posted by Andagain
I'm super into cooking and you know there's a bunch of dishes that I'm sad to let go, bolognese for example. But ultimately I think it would put my recovery in jeapordy so the way I think is there's a million other delicious things to cook which don't have alcohol and are no risk. However, this is alcohol itself, other products have trace amounts in them and I'm fine with that. I think there's a difference to some vinegar having 1 in 1000 of a unit in it and having a bottle of wine in my kitchen.
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