topic Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know... in Kitchen

Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

house cat — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 21:44:54 GMT

…. that the alcohol does not evaporate like I thought it did?

The recipe I'm making today calls for a bottle of beer. Dh cannot have alcohol and I'm thinking I'd better not use it.

I was under the impression that deglazing the pan with wine was safe, but evidently it's not.

I just thought I'd share.

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

ahoymate — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 21:54:17 GMT

FYI.......the amount of alcohol left after cooking isn't much. It's used to enhance flavor, much like salt.

http://www.finecooking.com/item/13810/alcohols-role-in-cooking

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

lovesrecess — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 22:04:08 GMT

OP is correct...all of the alcohol does not vanish after cooking like many ""experts"" say

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

lolakimono — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 22:35:39 GMT

HC,

Can DH have non-alc like O'Doul's?

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

DiAnne — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 23:11:28 GMT

Deglazing leaves very little alcohol. I never worried about feeding the meals to my children but if someone had a ""problem"" with alcohol I would never use it.

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

house cat — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 23:22:26 GMT

On 3/1/2014 lolakimono said:
HC,

Can DH have non-alc like O'Doul's?

Nope.

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

chickenbutt — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 23:23:04 GMT

On 3/1/2014 lolakimono said:
HC,

Can DH have non-alc like O'Doul's?

That seems like the best solution, if he absolutely needs to avoid it.

Yeah, I've always heard that all the alcohol is burned off. I imagine the vast majority of it really is, but I never thought about it much. I don't cook with alcohol hardly ever - maybe a couple of bottles of beer in my turkey chili is about it. I don't care for wine, so I never even have that on hand.

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

house cat — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 23:24:44 GMT

I keep little bottles of wine in the pantry for deglazing and a few recipes. I didn't realize that it doesn't burn off altogether.

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

MargieRJ — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 23:30:14 GMT

It depends on when the alcohol is put into the recipe and the cooking temperature. If alcohol is used, say in a cake recipe, after baking as a moistener then most of the alcohol will still be present. So in something like tiramisu, alcohol will be present.

If you use alcohol in a recipe such as cherries jubilee most of the alcohol is burned off before you serve it. The alcohol fuels that fire and adds flavor.

If you are making bread, stew, chili, beer batters, etc. either the cooking temperature (ex. frying) &/or length of time will eliminate most or all the alcohol and leave the taste behind. It will evaporate out of the food.

I happen to be a lab scientist and have used many types of alcohols in my work. So I know each type does evaporate, some quicker than others.

http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blalcohol12.htm

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

MargieRJ — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 23:34:08 GMT

On 3/1/2014 house cat said:
On 3/1/2014 lolakimono said:
HC,

Can DH have non-alc like O'Doul's?

Nope.

That seems odd that he can't have O'Doul's even in a recipe. In cooking it will be a flavoring ingredient.

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

Deadeye Daisy — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 23:51:51 GMT

Because we often have guests who are AA, I keep non-alcoholic beer concentrate in the fridge for cooking. I make a bottle of 'beer' by adding 5 parts carbonated water to 1 part concentrate, just as you would when making 'soda' with a DrinkMaker. When using in chili instead of Guinness Stout, I add some dark molasses to the chili.

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

MargieRJ — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 23:56:58 GMT

On 3/1/2014 Deadeye Daisy said:
Because we often have guests who are AA, I keep non-alcoholic beer concentrate in the fridge for cooking. I make a bottle of 'beer' by adding 5 parts carbonated water to 1 part concentrate, just as you would when making 'soda' with a DrinkMaker. When using in chili instead of Guinness Stout, I add some dark molasses to the chili.

Those are great substitutions.

For those who are AA members I can understand not having non-alcoholic beers or wines in the home though. They can be so similar to the real thing. I'd imagine they could cause an issue.

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

stilltamn8r — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 00:02:45 GMT

Unless someone is a recovering alcoholic, or on medication which precludes alcohol consumption, why would a little alcohol left in a dish even matter?

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

Deadeye Daisy — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 00:08:35 GMT

It's not the 'taste' that's a problem. It's the actual chemical (alcohol) that's the issue. In an alcoholic, the body reacts to the slightest amount of alcohol just as a tiny amount of narcotic causes a reaction in a drug addict.

Alcoholics have to watch consuming items with flavoring extracts like vanilla. Many have a higher percentage of alcohol than most wines, and almost 3X as much as most beer. Good vanilla is 35% alcohol. Alcoholics have been known to drink up bottles of flavoring extracts when nothing else was around.

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

stilltamn8r — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 00:10:11 GMT

Right, so if we are not cooking for alcoholics or folks on medication, why worry about residual alcohol content?

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

MargieRJ — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 00:15:41 GMT

On 3/1/2014 stilltamn8r said:
Right, so if we are not cooking for alcoholics or folks on medication, why worry about residual alcohol content?

There's no issue then.

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

house cat — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 00:31:03 GMT

On 3/1/2014 MargieRJ said:
On 3/1/2014 house cat said:
On 3/1/2014 lolakimono said:
HC,

Can DH have non-alc like O'Doul's?

Nope.

That seems odd that he can't have O'Doul's even in a recipe. In cooking it will be a flavoring ingredient.

My beef stew recipe calls for a bottle of beer. Someone told me that the alcohol is what tenderizes the meat. I would think non-alcoholic beer wouldn't have the same effect. Is this correct?

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

DiAnne — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 01:03:51 GMT

I have never cooked with beer (because I can't stand the taste) but often cook with wine. I would not think the alcohol would burn off just pouring beer into chili or stew but it seems like most of it would evaporate when deglazing a pan with wine (it sure disappears).

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

cairnlover — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 01:09:24 GMT

My son takes medication that would react with alcohol. Due to this, I would never use any in cooking.

Re: Adding alcohol to recipes… did you know...

house cat — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 01:32:10 GMT

On 3/1/2014 DiAnne said:
I have never cooked with beer (because I can't stand the taste) but often cook with wine. I would not think the alcohol would burn off just pouring beer into chili or stew but it seems like most of it would evaporate when deglazing a pan with wine (it sure disappears).

I did a little research (a.k.a. Googling) and it seems that it matters how long you cook it. For instance, if I'm cooking stew for three hours, it will be pretty much gone. The estimates were from about 5% residual to 25%. If you're not cooking the food very long the residual percentage could be much higher.