From: WVOSS@novell.com (Wes Voss)
Subject: Alcohol in cooking doesn't cook off..
Keywords: Alcohol 
Organization: Novell, Inc.
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 18:03:49 GMT

This was forwarded to me by a friend of mine... Thought you might find
it interesting in light of the discussion here about whether or not
alcohol cooks away..
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Subject: Alcohol in Cooking
Date: 12/18/92    Time:  8:58a

This comes from an article in the San Fransisco Chronicle food section.
This appeared about April, 1990.

ALL ALCOHOL DOES NOT COOK OFF
by Karola Saekel, Chronicle Staff Writer

Nothing in the world of food and wine, it seems, goes unchallenged these days.
The latest cherished belief to get the ax is the assumption that cooking 
with wine and spirits is as innocent as cooking with apple juice since all
the alcohol evaporates in the cooking process.  

Not so, not so at all, say the latest studies.  The wine, liqueur or
spirits you add to a dish may leave anything from a trace to a pretty
hefty shot of alcohol.  

In a study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the husband and
wife team of  Evelyn A. Augustin of Washington State University and Dr.
Jorg Augustin of the University of Idaho found that even in long, slow
cooking (stews, pot roasts), a small amount of alcohol is retained.  

Even more startling was their discovery that flaming a dish does not
literally burn off the alcohol.  In fact, a serving of cherries jubilee
may be equal to imbibing a small glass of Grand Marnier or creme de menthe.  

Evelyn Augustin, assistant professor of food science and human nutrition
as WSU, points out that the recent emphasis on lighter cooking without
heavy creams and starches has brought about an increased use of
alcoholic beverages as a flavor agent.  

She says that the research on alcohol retention in food, which she
conducted under strict laboratory conditions, was just part of a
larger USDA-sponsored study of nutrient retention of foods in various
cooking methods.  But it is attracting a lot of attention in the
scientific as well as food community, since it debunks long-held beliefs.

In the 1986 fourth revised edition of the American Heart Association
Cookbook, for example, this cooking hint appears: "The alcohol
evaporates during cooking, leaving only the flavor and tenderizing
qualities of the wine or spirits."

Well, guess what, the latest research shows that anywhere from 5 to
85 percent of the alcohol is retained.

Now, as Evelyn Augustin points out, 5 percent of the alcohol in a cup
of Burgundy used with a three- to four-pound piece of meat in Pot
Roast Milano, one of the six recipes tested, adds up to a paltry
0.2 grams of alcohol per person if eight people share this
long-simmered (2 1/2-hour) dish.

But - and that is a big but - for a small segment of the public,
even such a small amount can be harmful.

High on the list are recovering alcoholics for whom even a
miniscule amount of alcohol could trigger a relapse.  These are,
after all, people who can't even take cough syrup and a host of
other medications.  Some people have allergies that preclude any
consumpsion of alcohol, and there are certain antibiotics that
could be rendered ineffective or make a person ill if combinded
with alcohol.

The worst-case scenario would involve recovering alcoholics using
the drug Antibuse.  Alcohol can make them so sick, they even avoid
after-shave and colognes because of the small amount of alcohol
absorbed through the skin could be harmful.

In the Augustin tests, short simmering in Orange and Chicken Burgundy,
where wine is added only the last ten minutes of cooking time, resulted
in a 40 percent retention, or 0.6 grams of alcohol per serving.  In
this test, a 2 1/2- to 3-pound fryer cooked with 1/2 cup wine was
served to six people.

In Scalloped Oysters, where 1/4 cup sherry or dry white wine was
poured over assembled ingredients (1 pint oysters, 2 slices bread,
1/4 cup each butter and Parmesan) after which the dish was baked
at 375 for 25 minutes, each of the four diners consumed 1 gram of
alcohol (retention rate, 45 percent).

Dishes using distilled spirits had a significantly higher retension
rate than those using wine.  And preparations in which the alcoholic
bevrage was not subjected to direct heat had, predictably,
higher rates again.

Brandy Alexander Pie made with brandy and creame de cacao that were
not subjected to heat (although the finished pie was refrigerated,
uncovered, 16 hours), had a 75 percent retention rate (3 grams when
pie was cut into six wedges).  The ante climbed to 85 percent in
Grand Marnier Sauce where liqueur was added after cooking.  The
rate was 75 percent in Cherries Jubilee, flamed without stirring
(which would tend to extinguish the flame faster and thus retain
even more alcohol).

While these findings may startle most cooks, people dealing with
alcoholism have long taken a cautious approach.  While some consider
trace amounts of alcohol in food insignificant, most take it seriously.
Local restauranteur/chefs Frank and Donna Katzi of Cafe for All
Seasons, both recovering alcoholics, instruct waiters to discreetly
call it to customers' attention if a dish contains alcohol.
Their advice to restaurant diners is, ask if you have the slightest
suspicion that a dish might contain alcohol.

This approach is also recommended by Richard Haines of the St. Mary's
Chemical Dependency Recovery Center here, who says staffers tell
recovering alcoholics to stay away from alcohol in any shape or form.
Even imitation alcohol flavors are a no-no, he says.  Just getting
the taste sensation might bring back a taste for the real stuff.
Wes

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Wes Voss
Internet: wvoss@novell.com
Standard Disclaimer: Yeah, these are my opinions,
and no one elses... You know the rest...
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Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking