The Health of It All

Alcohol in Recipes

A lot of my recipes use wine or other alcoholic beverages in them. With the cooking process most of the alcohol evaporates, but not completely.

Many people don't wish to use any alcohol and there are alternatives. There are good non-alcoholic wines on the market -- some made by the better California vineyards. One brand that is pretty easy to find is Fré and it is used by many chefs when they want to avoid alcohol. To replace rum or bourbon, you can use extracts that have similar flavors (although they do still have a tiny bit of alcohol in them).

Keep in mind that there's less than a half-teaspoon of alcohol in a tablespoon of wine. Alcohol evaporates faster than the water in the wine, but there will still be a little alcohol left after cooking.

The amount that remains depends on what is being cooked. A stew, such as beef bourguignon that cooks for a few hours, will have time for more of the alcohol to burn off. On the other hand, a dish that is rapidly cooked, such as chicken piccata, may have as much as 50% of the alcohol remaining. So you could be getting as much as 1/4 teaspoon of alcohol in a serving of chicken piccata made with white wine. Read More "The Health of It All..." Articles