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Is Alcohol Safe in Cooked Food? - Does Alcohol Cook AWAY? Some…but not all
Beware of old wives’ tales about alcohol content disappearing from cooked foods. Your she-crab soup could lead to a white chip!
A study by the US Department of Agriculture tested six alcohol-containing recipes and determined that alcohol has tremendous staying power!
A myth long treasured by people who shouldn’t drink is that heat boils away all the alcohol in wine, brandy or rum, leaving only flavoring. The Mayo Clinic Health Letter (December 2000) warns that this is a fallacy.
When your Baked Alaska or Cherries Jubilee is ignited tableside, about 75% of the alcohol still remains when you are served. If the alcohol is stirred into a dish and baked for an hour, 25 percent remains when the dish is served. Forty-five percent of the dry sherry lingers in a meal of scalloped oysters after 25 minutes of cooking. And a trace of burgundy wine is still present after simmering a pot roast for 2-1/2 hours.
So beware of those currently popular Jack Daniel marinated steaks. If you have been advised to consume no alcohol at all, it’s best to avoid recipes calling for it, or use a substitute such as lemon juice or vinegar. If you’re hosting guests for a dinner party, definitely stay away from alcohol-added recipes – one of your guests just may be a recovering alcoholic!