Alcohol can be used when preparing meals for various reasons: tenderize meat, enhance the flavor of the food being cooked and so on. And to provide "cooks" with the best, alcoholic beverages specifically made for cooking are available. But is it only a label that will make the buyer think they are getting something different that's better? For those of you who use alcohol as an ingredient [when cooking] do you buy these expensive specialist cooking wines/liquors or buy the cheapest wine/liquor you can find?
I remember my mother-in-law marinating pork barbecue with a concoction that included red wine. And if there is no red wine, she would go for rhum. The alcohol gives tang to the taste of the barbecue, she said. Sometimes she also cooks steak with flavoring of alcohol. I just don't remember what kind of alcohol because I failed to ask. But definitely, using alcoholic drink in cooking is a novelty to enhance the flavor.
I am not a fan of using alcohol in my cooking, I just don't like the overpowering smell of it in food. Even when I'm eating out, if I see that a dish contains some alcohol, I avoid it like the plague. But someone who's a really good cook told me that if done right, you should barely be able to smell it!
You know - I didn't even know such a thing existed - as I've certainly never seen any specialist cooking wines on sale where I live - but maybe thats because we have an abundance of good but inexpensive wine here - however even if we did have them - I definitely wouldn't bother buying them as to me it would be a total waste money. Especially as - although I generally only ever cook with alcohol purely because I don't want to waste wine left over after having visitors - I can't say that once cooked down - that there is ever any noticeable difference in flavor between that of an expensive or a cheap wine.
I'll sometimes use Guinness in beef casseroles or pies. I'm a fan of beer battered onion rings too. I try and avoid recipes which call for wine though as I wouldn't usually buy or drink it. I'm more than happy to drink any leftover stout or lager though!
I don't use any alcohol in my cooking unless I'm making tiramisu. I really should though because I cook meat and sometimes the meat will go great if I simmer it in some wine or something. My husband and I don't drink wine so maybe that's what's stopping me from purchasing any? (I wouldn't be able to tell you the difference between each wine, to be honest). Maybe I'll make that my goal by the end of 2015: to try cooking with some alcohol and expand my culinary knowledge! Any tips and suggestions on how to get started?
I will put a very unexpensive wine in my sauce for pasta. It give the sauce a bolder taste which I like. I does not have to be a good wine it is for taste.
In most cases, the most of the alcohol itself is cooked off, and what's left behind are the flavor components - such as when using wine to de-glaze a pan and flavor a sauce. Alcohol itself though does enhance other flavors - the alcohol molecules carry scents from the food up to your nose. If I'm cooking with booze it's usually a wine of some sort, such as when I'm making a tomato sauce, or a dish like Chicken Marsala. Although I've also heard of stuff like Vodka being used in batters, for deep frying stuff - namely in Chinese recipes. There's something that the vodka does to make the batter puff up and crisp up when it hits the hot oil.
I am a vegetarian and non-drinker. Where I come from people often use wine and also beer in their cooking, such as fish fried in beer batter. I don't like alcohol at all, so I won't even incorporate small amounts in my cooking. I only ever use alcohol as a disinfectant.
@Denis Hard I don't cook with alcohol often, but I have heard cooks on TV say that you shouldn't cook with an alcohol product that you wouldn't drink, so I try to follow that idea. Unless a restaurant specifically calls for a cooking wine..which are high in salt, sulfites and poor taste I wouldnt do it.
I don't usually buy any fancy alcohol specifically meant for cooking. I use whatever I have already because if I have bought it for myself, chances are it's something I like and would enjoy in a meal also! If I have leftover Guinness, that's great in stews, sauces, batters, meat, cakes, almost anything! Any leftover beers will do, but I always prefer Guinness - to drink AND cook with. I'll most likely have some leftover red or white wine somewhere so that works when I want to de-glaze a pan and cook it down to create a sauce. Also any leftover vodka could be used to make vodka sauce for pasta; it's pretty much a creamy tomato sauce with the vodka cooked down. It's a lovely pink colored sauce. Leftover rum could make a fantastic rum cake. I don't ever believe in rum extract! To "spice up" a fruity dessert, I soak some fresh fruits in leftover amaretto for a few hours. Not too much, just enough to become absorbed by the fruit. It's refreshing!
I don't usually add alcohol to when I'm cooking but if I'm making a stew I'll use whatever red wine I have in my fridge. I've gone out to get Guinness as well to put in stews and it always enhances the flavours. My mother used to marinade beef in a cooking sherry before she would use it in a stir fry. It tenderizes the meat. I like the idea of adding vodka to a creamy tomato sauce. I'm going to try it soon.
