So today I made a pasta sauce that I’ve been making for years that I always put white wine in. I looked up online how long it takes to cook out alcohol and apparently it doesn’t take long at all so I thought it was fine. But after I ate it I started feeling really upset like I’ve let myself down or something. I haven’t had a drink in 5 days and I really have no interest in a drink at this point. I only put a little wine in the sauce and it’s only because that’s how i’ve always made it and it enhances the flavor. I just feel like I’ve failed now because I had a sauce cooked with some wine in it… ???
This is a very personal thing for each person. You will hear views from both angles. I only speak for me in this matter. It wouldn’t bother me at this point but I just don’t cook with any type of booze. Period. I’m not saying you did anything wrong bc I don’t feel like you did. I’m just saying that I don’t do it. You don’t have to feel guilty. But you also don’t have to do it again if you don’t want to.
Personally I don’t cook with it because I just don’t want to buy it at all. But if I’m in a resto or something and there’s wine in the scauss I don’t care.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it., or beat yourself up. As long as it’s a bit going in the recipe where the alcohol cooks away and it just adds flavor, instead of your drinking it, I would say you are fine.
But good for you for seeking advice and accountability when facing questionable situations.
My thought is as long as you don’t pour yourself a glass when cooking it then what the hell. Lol. Besides, cooking with wine or alcohol is almost unavoidable in a lot of pasta dishes in restaurants. We have a red wine demi glaze we use in a filet dish where I work and it’s delicious. The alcohol burns off when cooking so it’s really just the essence. If it did affect you in anyway, people under 21 wouldn’t be able to order it!!
You have to use vermouth in scampi. I also cook with alcohol. I poured wine into (Dr. Who themed) silicone ice cube trays. When I need a bit of wine for deglazing or whatever, I pop out the TARDIS or a dalek and throw it in the pan. I just don’t keep alcohol available for me to consume.
This is the sentence that jumped out at me. Combine that with the wine you added to the sauce & I’d get a new recipe for a while. I’m ok with either decision in time, but not quite yet. Is it a slip? No, not at all. Would I suggest doing it again next week? No, probably not.
Today, I don’t cook with it, don’t have it in the house, don’t give it as gifts, or purchase it for anyone. Just a personal stance. I have no issue with people drinking.
But if chocolate chip cookies brought me to my knees & nearly killed me, I wouldn’t put a single chocolate chip in my hot coffee for flavor, you know?
I’ve been sober for almost 5 years. Some of my recipes call for wine and I do cook with it with no issues at all. I know that the alcohol cooks off. If you only need a small amount and are concerned about having the remainder of the bottle in your house, you can either borrow the exact amount from someone or buy the cooking wine in the vinegar section of your grocery store. Unless I’m making a large batch of chicken riggies where I will use a full bottle in my sauce, I buy and keep the cooking wines on hand…smaller bottles and has no alcohol but adds the flavor of the appropriate wine. They have red, white, marsala and I believe one or two other options.
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