People who like cooking with wine, beer or spirits might be surprised to learn that alcohol doesn't burn off quickly when heated. In fact, it can take three hours of simmering or baking to remove all of the alcohol from a dish. Cooks who like to use alcoholic beverages in their recipes should be mindful that they can't cook out alcohol easily. Instead, they should adjust their recipes when preparing meals for people who have medical, personal or religious objections to consuming alcohol.
More about cooking with alcohol:
- Some cooks use alcohol in a technique called flambé, in which the cook adds a high-proof spirit, such as cognac, to a dish and then lights it on fire. The technique is controversial to some people in the culinary profession who think that the technique looks spectacular but adversely affects the taste of food.
- Adding wine, beer or spirits to a pot of boiling liquid and then removing it from the flame reduces its alcohol content by 15%. Adding alcohol to an unheated dish and then storing it overnight reduces the alcohol content by 30%.
- Alcohol-powered stoves are sometimes used as an alternative to propane stoves in boat galleys.