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After reading another Discussion one of the posts reminded me of something I read on alcohol and cooking with it. A little long but maybe worth a read .
God Bless...
Lionel.
Alcohol Does Not Cook Off
Imagine preparing Boeuf Bourguignon or Grasshopper Pie without wine or liquor. Most chefs would shudder.
Many gourmet cooks think that wine and spirits add essential flavor to dishes and that the alcohol evaporates in the cooking process.
Not true, according to researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
After testing six recipes, including main dishes and desserts, government nutritionists found that significant percentages of alcohol and wine poured into hot and cold dishes remain even after cooking.
Although the overall alcohol content of the recipes tested by the government remains small, the new finding may serve as a warning for people who want to bar any alcohol from their diet.
"It was assumed until now that everything would be gone after cooking," said Jorg Augustin, professor of food science and biochemistry at the University of Idaho, who prepared and tested the recipes selected by the USDA.
"We hadn't given it much thought before - but we found that the retentions varied quite a bit," he said.
Recipes that required less cooking time retained the highest percentage of alcohol.
A Brandy Alexander pie, made with 3 tablespoons of Brandy and 1/4 cup of Creme de Cacao, retained 85% of the alcohol. Cherries jubilee, made with 1/4 cup of Brandy and flamed for 48 seconds, retained 75%.
Main dishes such as scalloped oysters, prepared with 1/4 cup dry Sherry poured on top of the casserole and baked for 25 minutes, retained 45%. A chicken dish prepared with 1/2 cup of Burgundy stirred in and then simmered for 15 minutes retained 40%. A Pot Roast, prepared with one cup of burgundy and then roasted for 2 1/2 hours, retained only 5%.
Rena Cutrufelli, a USDA nutritionist, said that the agency will review its recipe files to adjust for the finding. The agency has not issued any recommendations based on these preliminary findings for people concerned with alcohol intake, such as recovering alcoholics or pregnant women, she said.
"We were just trying to prove or disprove the assumption that no alcohol exists (after cooking)."
Cutrufelli said, "I don't think for this small a picture you can say what affects people."
A spokeswoman for the Washington-based American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said the group has not responded to the study. "We don't really know how much alcohol is enough to cause problems," said Kate Ruddon. "But we do know it can cause fetal alcohol syndrome and other problems, we just recommend that women avoid it."
The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence also recommends that recovering alcoholics avoid foods cooked with wine or liquor. The taste alone could spark a desire to drink again.
"It depends on the individual," said Jeffery Hon, a spokesman for the New York-based council. "It may be more risky for some individuals, and it also depends on how much is used in the dish."
Chris Spolar
God Bless...
Lionel.
Alcohol Does Not Cook Off
Imagine preparing Boeuf Bourguignon or Grasshopper Pie without wine or liquor. Most chefs would shudder.
Many gourmet cooks think that wine and spirits add essential flavor to dishes and that the alcohol evaporates in the cooking process.
Not true, according to researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
After testing six recipes, including main dishes and desserts, government nutritionists found that significant percentages of alcohol and wine poured into hot and cold dishes remain even after cooking.
Although the overall alcohol content of the recipes tested by the government remains small, the new finding may serve as a warning for people who want to bar any alcohol from their diet.
"It was assumed until now that everything would be gone after cooking," said Jorg Augustin, professor of food science and biochemistry at the University of Idaho, who prepared and tested the recipes selected by the USDA.
"We hadn't given it much thought before - but we found that the retentions varied quite a bit," he said.
Recipes that required less cooking time retained the highest percentage of alcohol.
A Brandy Alexander pie, made with 3 tablespoons of Brandy and 1/4 cup of Creme de Cacao, retained 85% of the alcohol. Cherries jubilee, made with 1/4 cup of Brandy and flamed for 48 seconds, retained 75%.
Main dishes such as scalloped oysters, prepared with 1/4 cup dry Sherry poured on top of the casserole and baked for 25 minutes, retained 45%. A chicken dish prepared with 1/2 cup of Burgundy stirred in and then simmered for 15 minutes retained 40%. A Pot Roast, prepared with one cup of burgundy and then roasted for 2 1/2 hours, retained only 5%.
Rena Cutrufelli, a USDA nutritionist, said that the agency will review its recipe files to adjust for the finding. The agency has not issued any recommendations based on these preliminary findings for people concerned with alcohol intake, such as recovering alcoholics or pregnant women, she said.
"We were just trying to prove or disprove the assumption that no alcohol exists (after cooking)."
Cutrufelli said, "I don't think for this small a picture you can say what affects people."
A spokeswoman for the Washington-based American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said the group has not responded to the study. "We don't really know how much alcohol is enough to cause problems," said Kate Ruddon. "But we do know it can cause fetal alcohol syndrome and other problems, we just recommend that women avoid it."
The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence also recommends that recovering alcoholics avoid foods cooked with wine or liquor. The taste alone could spark a desire to drink again.
"It depends on the individual," said Jeffery Hon, a spokesman for the New York-based council. "It may be more risky for some individuals, and it also depends on how much is used in the dish."
Chris Spolar
I have yet to feel any effect from the alcohol or have any desire to drink after cooking with it.
But I just live on the edge -- I use mouthwash with alcohol too.
I use bicarb soda as a mouthwash. Learned about it during chemo and it helped stave off mouth ulcers.
At any rate I have never been triggered or cause to drink over it so I think common sense should be liberally applied.
I use red wine every once and again when I cook stuff. maybe once a year and since I don't dig on wine, what I have left over goes down the sink. I have made brats with beer and it's fantastic, but it never made me want to have a beer afterward. The 21.6% alcohol in my mouthwash is a higher % than anything I consume and I don't swallow my mouthwash. (Anyone else see that Intervention episode?) *GAG*
I don't take the wine at Holy Communion either, just the wafer. The Rector at my church agrees with my decision and I personally feel that I have no right to flout God's grace.
It is certainly not by my doing that I am a recovered alcoholic today. God did for me what I could not do for myself.
On the other hand, I have mistakenly had something that had alcohol in it as a dessert once or twice. I stopped eating it.
I have also had a sip of a drink that someone gave me that had alcohol in it. I drank no more. I didn't get drunk.
These were genuine accidental incidents. My God keeps me safe and protected and I don't wish to test Him with self-will by deliberate experiment.
To each his own, of course, but does it mean that the non-AA folk don't believe/have not experienced the physical allergy?
Some meals and desserts have a fair old whack of booze in them. You can taste the alcohol. To me that would be just as bad or even worse than non-alcoholic beer for courting danger.
I have a food intolerance to a common ingredient which can make me ill so I ALWAYS have to check if that ingredient is in food wherever I go. I check if alcohol is in a dish the same way. Pain in the arse to do, but I consider it an absolute necessity.
Likewise I cut out all cough syrups, mouthwash, alcohol-based natural remedies etc.
I'd be really interested to read more views on this, great subject - especially considering the non-alcoholic beer topic at the same time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWYR5i0tMuA&feature=related
I had a physical dependency and addiction to alcohol. The physical dependence is gone but I am sure it would return if I ever started drinking again. The mental part of the addiction was to feeling drunk and to the act of drinking, the feeling of warmth drinking, the habit, the "buzz" etc.
I cook occasionally with alcohol because it makes the food taste better, though I use less than I used to and cook sauces with alcohol longer. I'll add some white wine to cut a milk based sauce down a bit, especially if I don't have broth to add. I think I might have used up the open bottle of wine in the fridge -- don't know when I'll open another -- probably if we have guests who would like some.
I pay attention when I go out to eat and avoid foods (especially desserts) where I think there might be a lot of alcohol or it might be "raw" -- not cooked down or integrated properly into a dish. But I do not avoid it the way I avoid calamari. The other night I was out with a group and they ordered a fried seafood appetizer that included calamari. I did not eat any of it because I was afraid I would get ill just because the scallops and shrimp were fried with the calamari and that would affect me. That same night there might have been red wine in the mushroom sauce on my meat. If there was, it did not bother me. No -- I am not allergic to alcohol.
I do not swallow mouthwash and it doesn't bother me if it has alcohol in it.
I do not drink alcohol-free beer because I am afraid that I might like it and want to move from that to a real beer. Not because of the small amount of alcohol in it, but because I might be captivated by the act and taste of drinking it. That scares me.
Anyway, my boyfriend gets hayfever symptoms with alcohol which stops him drinking much because it is unpleasant and embarrassing, and my allergy is quite different - a craving for more that feels like a mental choice but is a physical reaction when alcohol gets in my system resulting in the phenomenom of craving.
No outer manifestation - I remember Nodp2day (ex CL here) posting some technical stuff about THIQ but it went straight over my head and consequently I can't remember it.
A simple way to explain it was given to me a while back. As an alcoholic I have an insufficient quality and/or quantity of enzymes and acetone levels for my body to properly process alcohol. I've done pretty well to remember that much! Lol.
Maybe someone else can fill me in with a bit of science about this?
No one has to be obsessive, just mindful about this stuff.
For me, it is similar to the discussion of should we be around others drinking....everyone has their own opinion but a bottom line has to be-will this trigger YOU.
No one else can answer that question. And if there is even a whisper in me saying it may be good to avoid-I thank god for that inner voice and avoid it for that day.
As stated before, also have to be careful with some vanilla essence's as the 'real mccoy' ones have alcohol in them. It was quite funny as found this out as went to one of my AA friends 1st birthday..she had done cupcakes without realising! They were yummy too lol