realization yesterday re: cooking with alcohol

MrsWanee · June 2009

so, i might be stupid, but for some reason, i had always assumed that when you cook with alcohol, the actual alcohol evaporates into the food. apparently this is not the case. i occasionally make pasta dishes with vodka in them. granted, there is only 1/4 cup, but still... it got me worried. i can't find anything anywhere about risks of cooking with alcohol while pregnant, and was never warned about it by my doctor. does anyone know anything about this like how much of a risk it poses to the baby? i didn't want to call my doctor because i was worried that he would be really mad at me for being so stupid.

*blondie* · June 2009

I have always assumed the alcohol is cooked out of the dish.

sunnyday16 · June 2009

You're fine. As long as you're not downing the bottle of vodka the baby will be ok:)

AshNicole331 · June 2009

*blondie*:
I have always assumed the alcohol is cooked out of the dish.

ditto

kaustin · June 2009

OMG, have I traveled back in time to first tri? Jk, you will be fine.

RubyRed1085 · June 2009

Almost ALL of the alcohol is cooked out of the dish before it is done. Nothing to worry about really.

DanielsWife · June 2009

RubyRed1085:
Almost ALL of the alcohol is cooked out of the dish before it is done. Nothing to worry about really.

This.?

jday1229 · June 2009

The only thing you're doing wrong is not talking to your doctor out of fear of looking stupid.

afg · June 2009

I always thought the alcohol was cooked away...

and even if it's not, what little you put in there is not going to cause any harm.

Jacques715 · June 2009

Unless you drank the 1/4 cup of vodka from the measuring cup instead of adding it to the dish, you are fine.

ArmyBride0604 · June 2009

The alcohol is cooked out of the food - all that's left is the flavor. Where did you hear that that wasn't the case?

bellaciao · June 2009

kaustin:
OMG, have I traveled back in time to first tri? Jk, you will be fine.

This.

katypresson · June 2009

when i worked at The Melting Pot, all the cheeses were made with either beer or wine...which cooked out, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to serve it to kids or pregnant women. Your LO will be fine!

MrsWanee · June 2009

https://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/AlcoholCooking.htm

there is a chart that i've seen on a lot of websites about how long it takes for the alcohol to evaporate. my recipe only says cook for 10 minutes.

ljlkm · June 2009

Some does actually burn off, but not all. You're fine--consider that there's roughly a shot and a half of alcohol in a quarter cup. You'll probably burn off about half of the alcohol (depending on how you're cooking the dish), leaving about 3/4 of a shot of alcohol in the entire dish. Even if you ate the whole thing, you'd be fine. But you're probably only eating a quarter of it, so you're consuming about 3/16 of a shot (or, a little over a teaspoon) in your portion. We're dealing with tiny, tiny amounts, here.

ArmyBride0604 · June 2009

katypresson:
when i worked at The Melting Pot, all the cheeses were made with either beer or wine...which cooked out, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to serve it to kids or pregnant women. Your LO will be fine!

Mmmmmm - Melting Pot! We just went there for our anniversary. So yummy!

calex33 · June 2009

ArmyBride0604:
The alcohol is cooked out of the food - all that's left is the flavor. Where did you hear that that wasn't the case?

I actually thought this too until I saw something on tv about it in the last few weeks. I can't remember what show it was though - maybe something on the Food Network. The spot had to do with the amount of alcohol you could consume in a meal without realizing it. Anyway, they were talking about cooking with alcohol and, I don't remember the exact number, but they said that very little alcohol is cooked out of the food. I think they said something like 75% of the alcohol remains.

MrsPreK · June 2009

kaustin:
OMG, have I traveled back in time to first tri? Jk, you will be fine.

This. LMAO.

NATALE0624 · June 2009

The alcohol is cooked out.

Nicolemay26th07 · June 2009

I was told it is fine to eat.

eeclem · June 2009

not all of the alcohol cooks out, but what little is left shouldn't be harmful. unless you're eating heaping helpings of penne ala vodka 20 times a day, every single day.

robynlesley · June 2009

Mmmm... vodka sauce... drool...

Oh! Sorry! Didn't mean to drift off there.

I agree with everyone else. Most of it cooks off, but what's left is so small that it won't cause an issue.

kenitaw248 · June 2009

AshNicole331:

*blondie*:
I have always assumed the alcohol is cooked out of the dish.

ditto

I thought this too!

FlaCourtney · June 2009

katypresson:
when i worked at The Melting Pot, all the cheeses were made with either beer or wine...which cooked out, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to serve it to kids or pregnant women. Your LO will be fine!

We went to the Melting Pot for Valentine's Day and I actually contacted them in advance with this very question! They were super nice about it and didn't make me feel stupid (but did warn me away from a gorgonzola dip that wasn't pastuerized). I think they get it a lot.

goesbatty · June 2009

The amount of alcohol left in the food after you apply heat is very small (unless you go really heavy on the alcohol, like in rum cake) so all that is left is the flavor of the liquor.

mediadiva · June 2009

your fine! baby is FINE!

rebus82 · June 2009

ArmyBride0604:
The alcohol is cooked out of the food - all that's left is the flavor.? Where did you hear that that wasn't the case?

This is actually not true. Food Detectives on Food Network actually did an experiment with a chef and they found that in most cases a good deal of alcohol remained in the food - though in this case certainly not enough to be a big concern.?

wendylea73 · June 2009

you're fine...we cooked brats in beer yesterday and I didn't think twice about it (I even took a tiny sip from the can!)

will's_littleone · June 2009

I love cooking penne ala vodka but I found a recipe for penne ala notka on the lifetime website that is just as good and alcohol free if you are worried.

ArmyBride0604 · June 2009

rebus82:
ArmyBride0604:
The alcohol is cooked out of the food - all that's left is the flavor. Where did you hear that that wasn't the case?
This is actually not true. Food Detectives on Food Network actually did an experiment with a chef and they found that in most cases a good deal of alcohol remained in the food - though in this case certainly not enough to be a big concern.

Huh. You learn new things every day. Smile Most recipes that call for alcohol call for such a small amount that, as in this case, I don't think I'm going to start worrying.

BuddhaKitty · June 2009

Alcohol is one of the quickest-evaporating things out there so there's not a doubt in my mind that you're fine.

realization yesterday re: cooking with alcohol

Re: realization yesterday re: cooking with alcohol

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