Dear Cooks: I don’t drink or even EVER buy alcohol. So could you give an alternative to use in recipes so I can use it instead of wine, beer, etc. Thanks.
Sylvia
Dear Sylvia:
Wine, beer or other liquors are used in recipes to impart flavor - in most recipes the alcohol content is cooked out of the dish and you are left with the flavor only. If you absolutely do not want alcohol in your dish, here are some suggested substitutions (note: if it’s a very small amount of alcohol called for (1/4 cup or under) you can simply omit if you would like):
Beer: Chicken or vegetable broth or stock or apple cider. For a hearty beer (ie, stout) substitution, you could use beef broth or stock. Non-alcoholic beer is also an option.
Red Wine: Chicken, vegetable or beef broth or stock, water, or diluted red wine vinegar (half water, half vinegar), concord grape juice or cranberry juice
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White Wine: Chicken, vegetable or beef broth or stock, water, diluted white wine vinegar (half water, half vinegar), white grape juice or apple juice
Sweet Vermouth: Apple or concord grape juice or balsalmic vinegar
Dry Vermouth: White grape juice or white wine vinegar
Cognac: Apricot, pear or peach juice
Marsala: White grape juice
Grand Marinier: Unsweetened orange juice concentrate
Note: Use same amount of subsitution liquid as alcohol is called for in recipe.
10.07.08 @ 11:20 am
Thanks so much! We don’t drink wine and I didn’t want to have to take my 3 kids up to the store - because they take the quick OUT of a ‘quick trip’ - to grab a tiny cheap bottle. This was the perfect way to avoid that otherwise necessary trip (and expense) to the store!
10.08.08 @ 12:13 pm
Thank you so much! I have often used broth in place of wine or beer but I have wondered if a juice would work better in some dishes. This is great information and takes out the guess work. There have been times I have not tried a recipe because of the beer or wine ingredient so thanks again.
10.08.08 @ 1:36 pm
Thank you so much for this list. I also do not cook with alcohol and don’t try recipes that require a larger amount of alcohol that can’t be left out.
10.08.08 @ 6:27 pm
Thanks for the info. I only buy alchol when entertaining and usually don’t want to run out and buy any for a dish with four kids to manage while getting dinner together. I’ve often wondered would substitutions matter to the taste or the intended quality of the dish.
10.09.08 @ 7:59 pm
I don’t mean to sound like a smart-ass but if the alchol is cook out and all that’s left is the flavor then why not just use non-alchol drinks.
10.11.08 @ 3:43 am
this was Very helpful, but i wanted to make lime rickey chickey and you didnt put in a substitute for bitters! PLEASE!??! thank you!
10.11.08 @ 1:17 pm
to the cooks
What can you do when you get to much salt in a recipie.
margaret
10.11.08 @ 6:24 pm
I think that beer is the best for flavor. I cook dinner every night. and I would say 6 out of 10 times I use beer for flavoring. say one night I make tacos, in the ground beef I add beer for to with my spices instead of water. it works really well. just try it!
10.12.08 @ 6:49 pm
after spending 17 years married to an alcoholic the last thing I want my kids exposed to is alcohol no matter what happens in the cooking process, thanks for these great ideas!