Monday, November 07, 2005

Alcohol in Foods & Cooking (part 2)

The most common reason alcoholic beverages are used in a recipe is to impart flavor. Extracts with the most intense flavors are alcohol-based, particularly vanilla.

In some recipes, alcohol is used to achieve a desired chemical reaction in a dish. Beer contains yeast that leavens breads and batters. Sometimes, alcohol is used in marinades to help break down tough fibers in meats. Other dishes use alcoholic content to provide entertainment, such as flaming dishes. In these cases, it is important to choose a substitute that will achieve a similar effect.

Wine was originally added to fondue to lower the boiling point of the cheese to prevent curdling. You may not be able to find an adequate substitute in that instance. In the case of leavened goods, you can try club soda to replace beer, but the results will be subtly different. You might also consider a different recipe that uses another leavener such as yeast, baking powder or baking soda. For marinades, acidic fruits will usually do the trick. For flambees and flamed dishes, you're out of luck and you should plan to use a different recipe. For flavoring alone, you will often have a number of substitution options.

see previous post -- Part One

Stay tuned and Keep Coming Back for Part Three.

6 comments:

JJ said...

I think I have a yeast infection.

Trudging said...

I have a yeast something that is for sure.

Trudging said...

Thanks for your Cub Scout comment. You are the best

Grace said...

WEll I found the answer to my question from yesterday, not all of the alcohol is burned off, that surprised me actually - alcohol in cooking

Shannon said...

does whiskey river bbq sauce have whiskey in it???

Anonymous said...

Hey great article on alcohol in foods. I recently tricked my internist to give me antabuse (told him I was already on it and needed a refill). Anyway I never wake up wanting to drink, so I pop my dosage and I know the rest of the day I CAN'T drink. Works great. Question: I just ate a huge helping of bread bits that I dipped in fondue. Says in the ingredients it has Kirsch and Wine in it, but it was a small pre-mixed packet that was mostly solid when it was plopped out prior to cooking. Now if it was mostly solid, I'm assuming little-to-no alcohol, and any left probably evaporated right? How careful do I have to be on Antabuse? (I plan on total abstinence and have succeeded). I know the prescribing info and basics, I just don't know exactly how much does what to you. Email me: plushAToptonlineDOTnet