I really, like the beef stew I made. My wife really likes the beef stew I made. She wants me to make some for our 1 year old daughter. The problem is I make it with a cup of red wine. Now I kept telling my wife that the alcohol burns off. But she is still worried about it. So I'm asking all of you. Is it ok to use the same recipe for our daughter? I really am reluctant to make a separate batch with a different recipe that doesn't use it. Any advice or suggestions?
Children and cooking with wine
- Thread starter marvinq
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
First of all, the alcohol does not all cook off. If you add it at the beginning of a 1.5 hour long simmer, there will still be 15% remaining. If the wine is 12% alcohol and there was 8 Oz. of wine, that contained about an ounce of alcohol. If 15% of that was remaining, you are talking about 0.15 ounces of alcohol spread out over a few quarts of stew. Given the amount of stew a 1-year old would eat I don't see a problem unless she has an alcohol allergy.
On the other hand, domestic tranquility is a valuable commodity and may be more valuable the stew issue.
Here is a table for future reference:
and removed from the heat
Flamed
Stirred in and baked or simmered for:
15 minutes
30 minutes
45 minutes
1 hour
1 1/2 hours
2 hours
2 1/2 hours
On the other hand, domestic tranquility is a valuable commodity and may be more valuable the stew issue.
Here is a table for future reference:
Cooking Method............................................. Alcohol Remaining
Alcohol added to boiling liquid ......................................... 85%and removed from the heat
Flamed
75%
15 minutes
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
10%
5%
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qmax
Sous Chef
I can see the domestic tranquility angle, but if this were Europe, the question would never come up.
GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
What is your wife worried about? A little bit of alcohol won't hurt your daughter - the meal will just give her a taste for food cooked with wine. As qmax said, in Europe, the question wouldn't come up - they're just not as preoccupied with alcohol as we are 
I blame the Puritans
I blame the Puritans 
That's the truth. I have traveled in Europe some and witnessed children who were on their way to school eat their breakfast on the train.
The children pile on the train, they flop the table top down between them, one breaks out the bread, one breaks out the cheese, and one breaks out the wine.....if they're lucky, one breaks out the meat (what looked like salami). Just very, very different from the US--not knocking the practice, but it's just different. I wouldn't worry about the little bit of wine left after cooking, but every Mom is different. Lol--some Mom's will pick up that binky (pacifier), wipe it off, and poke it back in. Some will boil/sterilize before that binky goes back in the child's mouth.
Andy M.
Certified Pretend Chef
'
Based on the chart I posted earlier, no more than 5%. If you're looking for "zero" for an answer, I can't say. If it's that big an issue, leave out the wine.
Based on the chart I posted earlier, no more than 5%. If you're looking for "zero" for an answer, I can't say. If it's that big an issue, leave out the wine.
Uncle Bob
Chef Extraordinaire
marving said:
Yes...It'll be Ok.....
Assuming that the lid on your slow cooker is fairly tight fitting ... probably 50% or more. The alcohol and water both evaporate - hit the lid and condense - and run back into the pot. The chart Andy M. gave is really for cooking "uncovered".
Even uncovered and simmered for hours - it will never reduce below 1%-2% for some reason.
Unless the kid has medical problems, or is on medication ... it's the French Conundrum ....
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ChefJune
Master Chef
Exactly! and if you are asking the question, then you probably shouldn't serve it to your child.
OTOH, I certainly ate food cooked with wine from a toddler up and am none the worse for wear. and so did all my siblings and cousins. No one even thought about it until about 25 years ago.
The amount of wine in a small serving of beef stew or a soup is negligible considering the remaining ingredients.
The only people I concern myself with when cooking with wine are recovering alcoholics. Then, it must be treated as a serious food allergy and avoided at all costs.
jennyema
Chef Extraordinaire
It is important to note that alcohol never burns off entirely, which, as June points out, is an important issue for people who must avoid alcohol for health or religious reasons.
I confess to adding wine to my pot roast which was fed to a 1 1/2 year old recently. He loved it.
I recall being in Munich about 20 years ago. It was 9 in the am and we were wandering around trying to find coffee when we came upon a family sitting in an outdoor cafe enjoying their morning beer. Mom and Dad had ginormous glasses (Maas) and the 2 kids (maybe 6 and 10 years old) had smaller, maybe 12 ounce glasses.
I silently admonished my parents for moving away from there, as that's where they were married and lived for years before they had me!
I confess to adding wine to my pot roast which was fed to a 1 1/2 year old recently. He loved it.
I recall being in Munich about 20 years ago. It was 9 in the am and we were wandering around trying to find coffee when we came upon a family sitting in an outdoor cafe enjoying their morning beer. Mom and Dad had ginormous glasses (Maas) and the 2 kids (maybe 6 and 10 years old) had smaller, maybe 12 ounce glasses.
I silently admonished my parents for moving away from there, as that's where they were married and lived for years before they had me!
I usually serve my 8 year old things that have wine in them as long as the wine is heated while cooking. I put just a few splashes of wine in the food and I think the amount of alcohol remaining after the cooking is not enough to do any harm to my daugher.
I do understand your wifes concern though. Better safe than sorry is likely her philosphy.
I do understand your wifes concern though. Better safe than sorry is likely her philosphy.
Bigjim68
Head Chef
Curious about two products that may be a possible solution. (1) Non alcoholic wines. Some of these are listed as alcohol free, others as having less than .5% alcohol. Are any truly alcohol free?
I have also seen somewhere a wine flavoring advertised as non alcoholic. From what I remember, it is more of a syrup, and only came in commercial quantities.
Anyone know anything about these products?
I have also seen somewhere a wine flavoring advertised as non alcoholic. From what I remember, it is more of a syrup, and only came in commercial quantities.
Anyone know anything about these products?
chefmike
Assistant Cook
In many dishes the reason for adding wine is to release substances that are not fat or alcohol soluble (such as certain flavors in tomato). Using a wine with no alcohol would defeat that purpose.
If there is concern, use stock for liquid instead.
And while you are at it, check your vanilla extract and your cough syrup if you do not want that kid getting any alcohol.
Personally, I think the mind set of worry and demonizing alcohol across the board creates more problems than it will solve. I prefer to teach appreciation and nuance rather than just say no. A kid who has a glass of wine at dinner is, in my opinion, less likely to guzzle MD20/20 on Friday night.
If there is concern, use stock for liquid instead.
And while you are at it, check your vanilla extract and your cough syrup if you do not want that kid getting any alcohol.
Personally, I think the mind set of worry and demonizing alcohol across the board creates more problems than it will solve. I prefer to teach appreciation and nuance rather than just say no. A kid who has a glass of wine at dinner is, in my opinion, less likely to guzzle MD20/20 on Friday night.
Callisto in NC
Washing Up
While I agree that vanilla extract does have alcohol, children's cough medicine does not. That said, there's a big difference in the amount of vanilla extract ratio in cookies verses the amount of wine it would take to cook the stew.
We aren't talking a teenager, we're talking about a one year old. I understand the mother's concerns. I appreciate the OP coming here to ask it shows he respects and loves his wife and child. She's not demonizing alcohol, she's expressing concern for a child that can't say "hey mom, what was in that, I feel funny."
marvinq ~ I'm on the side of domestic bliss on this one but if you can allay her fears by showing her this thread, you should be okay both in the cooking and marriage.
Whats MD20/20?
Alix, it's Mad Dog 20/20, which is cheap, nasty swill. Leave it in the bag to drink it.
Oooooooooo. Thanks Katie. Here it used to be Baby Duck as the beverage of choice for underage teens. LOL.
Back to the original question though. I think the information Andy gave at the beginning is likely the clearest and from there you will have to decide whether or not to use the wine yourself.
In our house, we have used wine and beer in cooking since the kids were babies. I figured if I ate it while I was pregnant with them, they could tolerate it when they were ready to eat it themselves. Between the amount of alcohol cooked off and the small portions the kids ate, it was never really a concern. Don't know if that helps you at all, but I thought I'd put it out there for you to think about.
Back to the original question though. I think the information Andy gave at the beginning is likely the clearest and from there you will have to decide whether or not to use the wine yourself.
In our house, we have used wine and beer in cooking since the kids were babies. I figured if I ate it while I was pregnant with them, they could tolerate it when they were ready to eat it themselves. Between the amount of alcohol cooked off and the small portions the kids ate, it was never really a concern. Don't know if that helps you at all, but I thought I'd put it out there for you to think about.
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