Dr. Tim Says....

A lot of my recipes use wine or other alcoholic beverages as important ingredients. Many people don't wish to use any alcohol, however, and fortunately there are many alternatives now.

With the cooking process, most of the alcohol evaporates, but never completely. Quite simply, it depends on how long you cook a particular recipe. 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.... Cooking with Alcohol

Featured Recipe

Blue Cheese Crab and Fusilli Pasta | Coumadin-Safe Version
The technique of cooking the onions slowly until they are a opaque, milky white color helps to change the composition of the carbohydrate in the onion and makes it a great thickening agent for sauces. At the same time a lot of the volatile ingredients in the onions that can provoke reflux are neutralized and many who have GERD can tolerate the sauce even with the subtle onion flavor.

Guest Column: Non-Alcoholic Wines

For health reasons I stopped drinking alcoholic beverages about seven years ago. This, not smoking, the Mediterranean diet, olive oil in place of butter, skim milk, and regular exercise, has improved my health to the point where my physical age is around 52 or 54 (as opposed to my actual 70). But to maintain the healthful effects of moderate consumption of red wine, I searched for an alcohol-free substitute.

Featured Ingredient: Cooking Wine

Cooking wine is to be avoided at all costs. As I mentioned in the section on cooking with wine, using a bad wine will result in a bad dish. In all of your cooking you should strive to use the best quality ingredients. Cooking wine is not one of these. This is primarily because the wine must, by law, be made undrinkable. This is usually accomplished by adding salt (or worse yet MSG) but there are often other ingredients and flavors used.

Hmmm... combine poor quality wine with salt or other ingredients that will render your recipe unpredictable? Best to avoid this one.

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Is your favorite recipe high in fat and calories? Send it in to Dr. Harlan and he may choose your recipe for a recipe makeover! Submit your recipe today!

 

 

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Hand on Heart

Dr. Harlan's latest cookbook, Hand on Heart, includes several of the recipes from drgourmet.com, plus a few that were developed specifically for the book, like Banoffee Pie! More on what's inside.

Cooking to Reduce the Burn

Cooking to Reduce the Burn was created specifically for those suffering from GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease). With Tummy Tips and easy recipes to help you eat well and eat healthy without painful acid reflux. Download it for FREE!