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Alcohol Burn Off in Cooking
Question:
When you use alcohol in cooking a dish, how long does it take for alcohol to
burn off? Is the time the same for all forms of alcohol? - Jim S (4/1/05)
Answers:
James Peterson, a cookbook writer who
studied chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley, stated
in his encyclopedic cookbook called Sauces:
You need to cook
a sauce for at least 20 to 30 seconds after adding wine to it to allow the
alcohol to evaporate. Since alcohol evaporates at 172°F (78°C), any sauce or
stew that is simmering or boiling is certainly hot enough to evaporate the
alcohol.
A study conducted by the US Department of
Agriculture’s Nutrient Data Laboratory in an articles called Alcohol retention in food preparation,
by Augustin J, Augustin E, Cutrufelli RL, Hagen SR,
Teitzel C.,
J Am Diet Assoc.
1992 Apr;92(4):486-8, calculated the percentage of alcohol
remaining in a dish based on various cooking methods. The results are as
follows:
|
Preparation Method
|
Percent of Alcohol Retained |
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alcohol added to
boiling liquid & removed from heat |
85%
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alcohol flamed |
75%
|
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no heat, stored
overnight |
70%
|
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baked, 25 minutes,
alcohol not stirred into mixture |
45%
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baked/simmered, alcohol stirred into mixture:
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40% |
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35% |
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25% |
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20% |
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10% |
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5% |
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Check out my web page on alcohol
substitutions in cooking (click on the underlined):
Alcohol Substitutions In Cooking
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