meals with alcohol in them....

stgn01

i'm going to ask my doctor about this, but wanted to hear what everyone here thought.  is it OK to eat food that was prepared with alcohol?  we make this stew that is so yummy, but has red wine in it.  or italian dishes that are prepared with other wine.  doesn't the alcohol just cook out?  call me paranoid, but i just want to double check.  thanks    

Mike's Wife

It's fine.  The alcohol will cook off.

FireWife2009

totally fine..the alcohol evaporates anyway...just used for the flavor..INDULGE!!

carolinah

The alcohol in wine just cooks out when it heated. From what I hear you dont have to worry about it.

bells039

The alcohol cooks off so it is fine

stgn01

thanks ladies!  beef stew (with wine) here i come!!!

dstar

Enjoy!!   I ate bananas foster with rum cooked into it. 

buckin

The alcohol cooks out.

konaboomom

Now I am craving stew and bananas foster...thanks ladies!

AppleRidge

Ladies, be careful with this.  It is actually a myth that most, if not all, of the alcohol "burns off" when cooked.  This is especially true for things that are cooked by flambe, like bananas foster.  Here's a good chart  https://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blalcohol12.htm

cutie420311

while that is an interesting chart, most things that use alcohol is the preparation, do not call for a  large quantity, just enough for taste, the majority of which is burned off in the cooking process.

While you might not realize it, white wine is used in many many places to deglaze a pan, you're not getting effect from the wine, but you get flavor.

AppleRidge

cutie420311:

while that is an interesting chart, most things that use alcohol is the preparation, do not call for a  large quantity, just enough for taste, the majority of which is burned off in the cooking process.

While you might not realize it, white wine is used in many many places to deglaze a pan, you're not getting effect from the wine, but you get flavor.

Definitely true, but some places use really high-alcohol content alcohol, like everclear, to do flambes.  I wouldn't care about something in a white wine sauce, but I'd steer clear from stuff like bananas foster. 

jenkm

BBHME:

Ladies, be careful with this.  It is actually a myth that most, if not all, of the alcohol "burns off" when cooked.  This is especially true for things that are cooked by flambe, like bananas foster.  Here's a good chart  https://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blalcohol12.htm

 

Yeah, but keep in mind...  For an average recipe like beef stew or chicken marsala, you may use like 1/2 cup of cooking wine.  That will be split into 4 - 6 portions.  Plus the cooking off of a good portion of the alcohol.  Plus that alcohol is being consumed with food.  At the end of the day, there's so little alcohol in dishes like that per serving, I think it's highly paranoid to worry about it. 

ttimmerman

cutie420311:

while that is an interesting chart, most things that use alcohol is the preparation, do not call for a  large quantity, just enough for taste, the majority of which is burned off in the cooking process.

While you might not realize it, white wine is used in many many places to deglaze a pan, you're not getting effect from the wine, but you get flavor.

Actually, any recipe that calls for hard liquor I would question. I have a vodka pasta recipe that calls for a cup of vodka. And no, it is not "burned off" in the cooking process until hours later. Of course, using a splash of white wine to deglaze a pan (and I think anyone who cooks knows this) is not going to harm you, or really a sauce that uses a half cup of wine. It's when you start getting into large amounts of hard liquor with a short cooking time that you need to worry.

2bmrslove

" It's when you start getting into large amounts of hard liquor with a short cooking time that you need to worry."

For example? I can't think of any recipie that uses large amounts of hard liquor with a short cooking time.

ttimmerman

2bmrslove:

" It's when you start getting into large amounts of hard liquor with a short cooking time that you need to worry."

For example? I can't think of any recipie that uses large amounts of hard liquor with a short cooking time.

For example, the vodka pasta recipe I just posted about. It requires a cup of vodka and only simmers for 15-20 minutes. There's no way all the alcohol would cook off in that short amount of time, and even if 50% did, that's still a half cup of vodka - quite a lot. Of course, this is the exception, not the rule. Many recipes just require a small amount of wine, so there's nothing to worry about. These recipes do exist, though, which is why I'm saying it doesn't hurt to be careful.