What do you substitute for wines????

[piratesmate]

Is there anyone else out there who does not use wine, sherry, etc. in recipes? If so, what do you use in its place?

Because DS got upset about us having "drugs" (wine) in the house during a round of anti-drug teaching at school, we stopped using it years ago. Sometimes I just skip it, but sometimes you can tell that the recipe really needs something else.

I've substituted cranberry juice cocktail for burgundy in Beef Bourginon (sp??) but don't have ideas for white wine or sherry. I'm hoping one of you has some tips.

TIA

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

That's a tough one. I too went through a no alcohol in the house phase because I have a loved one who is in recovery. But then I discovered that in most dishes all of the alcohol cooks out when you cook it. Now I keep some wine in the house. You might try a dealcoholized wine, they do sell some of them. It would give you the flavor, without the alcohol content.

 

[bananiem]

I have one recipe that comes to mind that suggests using white wine or apple juice. I've always used the juice so I don't know how it affects the taste of the dish.

 

[piratesmate]

bananiem - That sounds like it might work. I tend to be literal minded & thought of substituting white grape juice for white wine - but the apple juice would be more tart & more like the wine I would think. That's why the cranberry juice works in place of the burgundy.

I've never had sherry - any way to describe it? I could just buy the real stuff, but as long as DD is concerned about "drugs" in the house(DS eventually got over it), I'd rather not get into it. You should have heard the discussion about why it was okay for DH to drink coffee every night (on night shift) - they were told that caffeine was a drug. Does anyone else have literal minded children like mine????

 

[Kermit]

If the recipe calls for beef or chicken broth, you can just use more of it instead of wine. Apple juice is the other substitution I make. I would think that apple or cranberry would work best when you were substituting for a sweet wine and broth would be for a dry wine.

I think there is a cooking sherry at the grocery store that is either alcohol free or less alcohol, but I've never used it. It's by the vinegar where I shop. We don't really drink, but I don't have any problem adding it to recipes. The alcohol cooks out if you add it at the beginning of the cooking time.

 

[Beth E. (NJ)]

Check your local grocery store for the dealcoholized wines. They have no alcohol in them, but the taste would be right for a recipe.

 

[piratesmate]

I don't suppose there's dealcoholized bourbon, is there?? (For Boma's pumpkin cheesecake or H&V's Rootbeer Sweet Potatoes)


Seriously, I'm not worried about the alcohol as it does "burn off" when cooked. It's the appearance of using alcohol because of the kids. Also, from what I remember when used it BK (before kids) the grocery store stuff isn't all that good. I might just as well substitute apple or cranberry juice.

Maybe I should just go on a flight to WDW & buy a drink of what I want on the plane. Then I could hide the bottles & toss them out after 1 use so the kids would be less likely to see them!

 

[dt]

Yes, you could by nips I think they are called at the liquor store and just keep them with your spices.

You can also buy extracts like imitation rum in the baking isle at the grocery store. They do contain alcohol, but again you just keep them with your cooking spices.

 

[BevS97]

Maybe you could explain to your kids the difference between drinking in excess and using some wine in cooking, or een having a glass of wine with dinner. One day they are going to have to make decisions about alcohol, and some sensible advice will stand them in good stead.

Bev

 

[piratesmate]

That's a good idea about the nips. I didn't realize that they were available in the liquor store - as we never go into one.

We've had discussions with the kids about a glass of wine at dinner occasionnally being far different from drinking to excess. I don't know whether it is their individual personalities, the way the info was presented in school (even 1 is too much), or what, but they see this as a black & white issue. There is no gray. Whether or not we have a glass of wine is NOT important to us. It is far more important that we not give our children a reason (excuse??) to stumble. Actually, I admire their strength of conviction and pray that it will continue throughout their lives. When they become adults, they may modify their stand, but I'd rather get through the danger years of 13 - 25 without giving them reason to question the validity of their stance. Obviously, not everyone has to deal with such hard-headed kids!

It's a good thing they aren't so stubborn about other things!