Cooking With Alcohol

[Yirgacheffe]

My husband is about as TBM as they come.  However, he is also a gourmet chef, and cooks with wine quite regularly.  He actually tried using cooking wine, but there is just so much salt in it, that it does not produce the right flavor.

 

I don't feel at all guilty about having a bottle of red wine and a bottle of white wine in our fridge for cooking.  The things is, we use so little of it that the same bottle will stay in our fridge for MONTHS. (Actually, I think the one that is in there now is close to a YEAR old.  LOL)  If someone actually DID try to drink it, they would likely get a mouthful of vinegar rather than any type of "high".  

I now want Chicken Marsala, but the roads were bad yesterday evening and we've gotten 6 or 7 more inches of snow since then.  How long can you keep wine, I've looked at the bottle of Marsala in the frig at say the fourth of July and thought geez I got that around Christmas and thrown it away.  Would it have still been good?

[thesometimesaint]

I now want Chicken Marsala, but the roads were bad yesterday evening and we've gotten 6 or 7 more inches of snow since then.  How long can you keep wine, I've looked at the bottle of Marsala in the frig at say the fourth of July and thought geez I got that around Christmas and thrown it away.  Would it have still been good?

 

Stored properly wine can last for decades. A cool dark dry place. like a wine cellar, is best. Refrigerators are generally too cold for wine, and the constant changes in temperature(opening an closing the door) degrade it pretty quickly. White wines are best chilled just before use, and red wines are best when warmed to room temperature. Spirits, like Vodka and Whiskey, are unaffected at normal temperatures. You can still use wines that have turned to vinegar, just use them as you would vinegar.

[Yirgacheffe]

Stored properly wine can last for decades. A cool dark dry place. like a wine cellar, is best. Refrigerators are generally too cold for wine, and the constant changes in temperature(opening an closing the door) degrade it pretty quickly. White wines are best chilled just before use, and red wines are best when warmed to room temperature. Spirits, like Vodka and Whiskey, are unaffected at normal temperatures. You can still use wines that have turned to vinegar, just use them as you would vinegar.

Is that for bottles that are opened and how do you properly store an opened bottle?  I don't have a cool dark place other than the frig, in the summer without a/c I don't even have a place in the basement that would qualify as not hot and certainly not dry.  I don't know if Chicken Marsala would be the same with Marsala vinegar,   and would it turn to vinegar since I think it has brandy in it?

Edited January 2, 2014 by Yirgacheffe

[thesometimesaint]

Is that for bottles that are opened and how do you properly store an opened bottle?  I don't have a cool dark place other than the frig, in the summer without a/c I don't even have a place in the basement that would qualify as not hot and certainly not dry.  I don't know if Chicken Marsala would be the same with Marsala vinegar,   and would it turn to vinegar since I think it has brandy in it?

 

Once it is decanted keep the cork moist, and use it up within a few months, at most. If it isn't cool then the next best thing would be a dark place. A bottom cupboard would do. It doesn't have to be bone dry. The cork dries out in very dry conditions. But a relative humidity of less than 60-80% will work. It wouldn't be Chicken Marsala anymore. But it might taste good anyway. A small splash of vinegar balances out the flavors in many dishes. Depends on how much Brandy is in it. Simple fortified wines like Sherry keep well when kept in the same conditions as regular wines. If much higher concentrations of alcohol are used you are getting into the realm of Spirits so should be kept like Spirits.

[Yirgacheffe]

Well my husband bought me a bottle of Marsala, I was in a state that elicited sympathy and he braved the deadly temps to bring me some, the bottle has no cork just a screw on cap so.. now that it's winter and I have any number of cool places I've just put the bottle in the black plastic bag it came home in next to a northern outside wall in the kitchen.  It is most definitely cool and hopefully dark enough, so I'll have Chicken (and my favorite actually mushrooms) Marsala for 3 or 4 months, yes?  How long do I have in the humid no where in the house lower than 80 summer?

[thesometimesaint]

Well my husband bought me a bottle of Marsala, I was in a state that elicited sympathy and he braved the deadly temps to bring me some, the bottle has no cork just a screw on cap so.. now that it's winter and I have any number of cool places I've just put the bottle in the black plastic bag it came home in next to a northern outside wall in the kitchen.  It is most definitely cool and hopefully dark enough, so I'll have Chicken (and my favorite actually mushrooms) Marsala for 3 or 4 months, yes?  How long do I have in the humid no where in the house lower than 80 summer?

 

80 is a little warm. High 60's to low 70's are best. Mid to high 70's are passable though. So use it up before it reaches that hot for more than a month or so.

[Yirgacheffe]

80 is a little warm. High 60's to low 70's are best. Mid to high 70's are passable though. So use it up before it reaches that hot for more than a month or so.

Well I guess I'd end up throwing a lot out in the summer, maybe I'll try just making sauce and freezing that to use during the summer.  Thanks for taking all this time to answer my questions, I appreciate it!

[MorningStar]

Tiramisu should replace cookies, brownies, jello and ice cream at any and all LDS functions.

I think even if I weren't Mormon, I could not bring myself to like Tiramisu.  An Italian restaurant served it to me on my birthday last year and I took a bite not knowing what it was.  Tasted horrible.

[thesometimesaint]

I think even if I weren't Mormon, I could not bring myself to like Tiramisu.  An Italian restaurant served it to me on my birthday last year and I took a bite not knowing what it was.  Tasted horrible.

 

Even if I weren't LDS I still don't like the taste of coffee, and most Tiramisu uses both coffee and coffee liqueur. Good news!! I found a receipt that doesn't use booze or coffee, but plenty of chocolate and enough sugar to give a sugar high.

Edited January 8, 2014 by thesometimesaint

[Yirgacheffe]

Even if I weren't LDS I still don't like the taste of coffee, and most Tiramisu uses both coffee and coffee liqueur. Good news!! I found a receipt that doesn't use booze or coffee, but plenty of chocolate and enough sugar to give a sugar high.

Well quit teasing where is the recipe?

[thesometimesaint]

Here is a tiramisu receipt that doesn't use booze or coffee, but uses lots of chocolate instead.

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/12/sinfully-sinless-tiramisu-sugar-rush-12.html

[cdowis]

Rum cake (using real rum) is definitely contrary to the Word of Wisdom.

 

Cough.... from personal experience.

[thesometimesaint]

Rum cake (using real rum) is definitely contrary to the Word of Wisdom.

 

Cough.... from personal experience.

 

Every year I make a rum cake for Christmas. I use real rum in it before I bake it. The alcohol pretty much all evaporates in the baking process. What I don't do is pour rum over it after baking. So enjoy.

[PtolemyGlenn]

I always find adding alcohol to a dish gives it a funny taste that I am not fond of. Rqther just work my cooking magic ith herbs and spices.

[thesometimesaint]

I always find adding alcohol to a dish gives it a funny taste that I am not fond of. Rqther just work my cooking magic ith herbs and spices.

 

There is no requirement to use alcohol in cooking. But those nice yeast breads wouldn't exist without it.

[thatjimguy]

Use the spirit to tell you. Why ask anyone else, even on this board?

[jkwilliams]

One Christmas when my mother was in high school, my grandmother made egg nog, and she insisted on flavoring it with just a touch of rum. My grandfather told her in no uncertain terms that doing so would violate the Word of Wisdom. Things got a little heated, and she ended up pouring the entire bottle of rum (a small one, mind you) into the egg nog. My uncle tells me that Grandma got him to have some of it, but no one else would touch it. My uncle said that my aunt wouldn't speak to him for days after that. 

 

We used to have a big garden when we lived in Utah, and every year we would make and bottle spaghetti sauce with a recipe from my dad that calls for red wine. We also had Concord grape vines in our backyard, so we would bottle 40-50 quarts of grape juice each year. One year we decided that we really shouldn't be cooking with wine, for the reasons people have said here, so we used the grape juice instead. It didn't turn out well. The next time we went to the state liquor store for wine, a  clean-cut young couple pulled into the space next to ours and seemed to be having a big of an argument. Finally, they went in, and I noticed they had the same LDS Institute of Religion parking sticker on their car that we did. Funny how we worry about such small things.

 

For the record, I've had "Mormon tiramisu" made with cocoa and chocolate. It's not even close to as good as the real thing.

Edited August 14, 2015 by jkwilliams

[carbon dioxide]

I voted yes. Not because of the alcohol that doesn't cook off though. I believe that supporting the companies that produce the wine or beer is what is wrong. People are making money by taking advantage of others weaknesses.

Should we stop shopping at stores that make money off selling alcohol.  They also are taking advantage of the weakness of others by displaying it.

[jkwilliams]

Should we stop shopping at stores that make money off selling alcohol.  They also are taking advantage of the weakness of others by displaying it.

 

Is drinking necessarily a weakness? A couple of weeks ago we had dinner with my sister and her family, who are Jewish, and they had wine and cocktails with dinner. No one got drunk, and no one has a drinking problem, and I can't fathom saying any of them have a weakness because they drink alcohol. Does the store that sells Diet Coke prey on the weaknesses of caffeine addicts? Are restaurants taking advantage of the weaknesses of over-eaters?

[thesometimesaint]

Lets not get too Pharisaical about it. 

[Rain]

Because this thread started in 2011 it has been a funny read. Several stories and ideas have been repeated though some have changed a little depending on the person. It's also been bumped a couple of times.

I've often found the "the alcohol cooks out" argument to be a little funny. Besides the cooking method, type of alcohol, amount of alcohol and alcohol content it also depends on length of cooking time. Basically, you just don't know unless it has been tested or you've done complex equations to solve it.

I do use extract, but in general I do consider using alcohol in cooking to be against the word of wisdom. Since we don't have a clear statement telling us about it then I figure it is up to the individual to figure it out for themselves. My family has way too many addiction problems so I stay clear of it. I don't eat food that I know have been cooked with it other than extracts.

I do have a major problem though with LDS who serve it to other LDS knowing it may be a problem without at least asking them. I know someone who knew people who felt cooking with it was against the word of wisdom and brought food with it in it (secretly) to a ward function and was tickled when those people asked for the recipe. Crickets sounded when I asked if the delight would be there if someone secretly served pork to a Jewish person or beef to a hindu.

Anyway, as long as others are respectful of my feelings then it doesn't phase me if they use alcohol in cooking.

Edited August 14, 2015 by Rain

[Steve-o]

Flambe'd Bannannas Foster is delightful. Pile them over vanilla ice cream. Mmmmmmm, Rummy, caramelly goodness. I'm pretty sure that if you set the rum on fire it will cook out

[JAHS]

Because this thread started in 2011 it has been a funny read. Several stories and ideas have been repeated though some have changed a little depending on the person. It's also been bumped a couple of times.

I've often found the "the alcohol cooks out" argument to be a little funny. Besides the cooking method, type of alcohol, amount of alcohol and alcohol content it also depends on length of cooking time. Basically, you just don't know unless it has been tested or you've done complex equations to solve it.

I do use extract, but in general I do consider using alcohol in cooking to be against the word of wisdom. Since we don't have a clear statement telling us about it then I figure it is up to the individual to figure it out for themselves. My family has way too many addiction problems so I stay clear of it. I don't eat food that I know have been cooked with it other than extracts.

I do have a major problem though with LDS who serve it to other LDS knowing it may be a problem without at least asking them. I know someone who knew people who felt cooking with it was against the word of wisdom and brought food with it in it (secretly) to a ward function and was tickled when those people asked for the recipe. Crickets sounded when I asked if the delight would be there if someone secretly served pork to a Jewish person or beef to a hindu.

Anyway, as long as others are respectful of my feelings then it doesn't phase me if they use alcohol in cooking.

If a person doesn't know the food was cooked with alcohol they can't be guilty of breaking the spirit of the WOW, although it would be more polite to let your guests know.

We eat at restaurants that quite often cook some meals with alcohol without knowing it. While on my mission in Austria my companion and I went to visit a home where he had lived before to visit his old hausfrau. She served us tea and cookies during our visit. Since missionaries had lived there before we assumed she knew we didn't drink black tea. We told her the tea she gave us tasted good and asked what kind it was. She told us it was black tea. We stopped drinking it and told her it was against our doctrines to drink it. She apologized for serving it but we assured her that since we didn't know it was black tea that we did not commit any sin.

People also served us chocolate candies with liquid centers that I am pretty sure was beer or something containing alcohol.

[thesometimesaint]

Flambe'd Bannannas Foster is delightful. Pile them over vanilla ice cream. Mmmmmmm, Rummy, caramelly goodness. I'm pretty sure that if you set the rum on fire it will cook out

 

If you like the taste of alcohol be my guest. However very little of the alcohol gets burned off in the flambe process.

SEE http://www.bsciresourcecenter.com/proddetail.php?prod=ArtJanEnews

[Mola Ram Suda Ram]

Holy Old thread Batman.

 

Tell you what I can get a temple recommend when cooking with it. I even tell the SP that I use it. He has no issue with it.