What happens if you try to get mashed on potatoes and sauced on sauce? Its a sobering insight into what really happens to the booze we cook with
Ah, the old ones are the best. But here’s an oldie that is well past its sell-by date: if you cook with wine, all the alcohol is “burned off” by the heat.
When I started telling people about my plan to see if I could eat myself drunk, I heard this piece of kitchen folklore again and again. And no wonder: it seems so plausible. The boiling point of ethanol is about 78.5 °C, significantly lower than the boiling point of, say, a casserole. So if you add wine to a hot pan, the alcohol evaporates.
According to a news article posted in Daily Mail, underage teens have found a way to buy cooking wine to get drunk, as cooking sherry has 12% to 17% alcohol content. Although the cooking wine’s taste isn’t palatable compared to actual drinking wine, its alcoholic contents can get people drunk as well.
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What happens if you try to get mashed on potatoes and sauced on sauce? Its a sobering insight into what really happens to the booze we cook with
I LOVE cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
Ah, the old ones are the best. But here’s an oldie that is well past its sell-by date: if you cook with wine, all the alcohol is “burned off” by the heat.
When I started telling people about my plan to see if I could eat myself drunk, I heard this piece of kitchen folklore again and again. And no wonder: it seems so plausible. The boiling point of ethanol is about 78.5 °C, significantly lower than the boiling point of, say, a casserole. So if you add wine to a hot pan, the alcohol evaporates.
Not so. In 1992, a team of food scientists at the University of Idaho put this old chestnut to the test. They created several different booze-laden recipes, each with a different method of adding alcohol, and tested how much was left at the end. The answer ranged from “not much” to “most of it” – but all the recipes, including a casserole cooked for two-and-a-half hours, retained some alcohol.
This got me thinking: is it possible to get drunk only by eating things? If I ate a helping of, say, coq au vin followed by peaches in brandy, could I get pie-eyed? Not falling-down drunk, but legally drunk, which in England means being over the drink-drive limit of 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, or a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 per cent (see map).
Herein lies the serious side of…
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Sherry: Everything you need to know!
FAQ
Is sherry a strong alcohol?
Can you drink sherry straight?
What happens if you drink sherry?
How much alcohol is in a shot of sherry?
Can you drink dry sherry?
You are, of course, free to drink sherry however you enjoy it and don’t have to follow any rules. Nevertheless, serving it within a particular temperature range will only help improve the overall experience. Depending on its variety, the classic types of dry sherry are best served at the following temperatures:
How long after opening a bottle can you drink a sherry?
The type of sherry will change how quickly you should consume it after opening the bottle: Once you open a bottle of fino or manzanilla, drink it within 1 week. For a bottle of Amontillado, it is best consumed within 2-3 weeks. Oloroso or Cream sherries will start to lose their flavor after 4-6 weeks.
What happens if Sherry is served too cold?
In short, the flavours won’t express themselves if the sherry is served too cold. Conversely, its taste will likely be too strong, masked by alcohol bloom, and indistinguishable if too warm. Of course, it can be difficult to serve sherry at the exact temperatures indicated above unless you have a thermometer and wine cooler.
Should Sherry be served ice cold?
Chill your sherry before serving it. While not all types of sherry should be served ice cold, all of them taste best when they have been chilled slightly before serving. There are recommended temperatures for each type of sherry, but keeping it chilled to a temperature of your liking is always the best and easiest option.