New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Residual Alcohol  

post #1 of 4
12/13/05 at 11:36pm
Thread Starter 
Some say that all of the alcohol in wine, beer or spirits added to food "cooks out." Others say that it doesn't. Also, I understand that there is a certain natural level of alcohol in many foods.

How much alcohol remains when it is added to a simmering sauce? Boiling sauce? Does it approach the natural level in foods?

Thanks again.
post #2 of 4
12/14/05 at 12:41am
Because alcohol has a chemical affinity for water, you can never cook all of it out of a dish unless you desiccate it. How much you do cook out depends on the cooking process and its duration. Flaming removes as little as 25%, while long-simmered stews can lose 90-95%.

Harold
post #3 of 4
12/14/05 at 6:55am
So when you deglaze a pan with wine and cook it down "au sec" (until dry -- well, almost), you are removing more than 95% of the alcohol? Using that technique, could you actually remove all of it? How much of the flavor elements from the liquid remain -- more than might be carried away during the evaporation?
"Notorious stickler" -- The New York Times, January 4, 2004
post #4 of 4
12/14/05 at 11:58pm
Yes, if you’re removing nearly all the water, then you’re removing nearly all the alcohol too. But you’d also be removing much of the aromatic content of the liquid. The non-volatile, non-aromatic materials would stay—sugars, acids, salts, savory amino acids, tannins if any. But most of the aromatics would be perfuming the kitchen air.

Harold
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Open Forum With Harold McGee
This thread is locked