Do you use really good wine for cooking?

[miniman]

We usually get the cheaper supermarket wines (about £3 a bottle) which are perfectly drinkable and work very well in the food. Often they are the new world wines (South Africa or South America).

[Caine]

Originally Posted by wysiwyg

I think Aristotle said: "If it ain't good for drinking, it ain't good for cooking"

I wouldn't consider Aristotle a good source for beverage reviews. Isn't he the guy who drank the hemlock?

[Barbara L]

I'm not sure where I fit in here! I don't like to drink wine, but I do like certain foods cooked with wine. Cooking does change the flavor of it a little (or I probably wouldn't like it in foods), so I would think that cooking with something a little less costly (if what you drink is expensive) shouldn't make too much of a difference.

Barbara

[kitchenelf]

Originally Posted by Fisher's Mom

I have used some more expensive wines for sauces ($25) but I usually use modestly priced, good tasting wines ($10) and honestly, I don't notice much of a difference in the taste. I will say that I tried using a very sweet, very cheap wine once and the sauce was so sweet, it was almost like candy - yuck.

Recently, I got a box of red wine to see if I could make a good sauce with it and I was surprised to find it worked very well. I also used it in a slow cooker roast and it was very tasty. So I think the common advice here of using inexpensive wines that taste good to drink is very good advice.

Boxed wines are the "bomb" to cook with. No air gets to the wine so they last for MANY months. I just keep them in a cupboard beside my stove and use them at will. They are the perfect wine to cook with IMHO.

[jeninga75]

This is a discussion about cooking with wine so instead of starting a new thread, just thought I'd ask my question here. I would like to try a recipe that calls for "dry white wine." I have no clue what this means. I cant stand the taste of wine so I know nothing about it. I have never cooked with it so I'm willing to try that. I don't want this recipe to fail because I left it out just because I dont like to drink it.

So what is an example of this. I'd prefer to spend as little amount of money as possible as I will never drink it. I will keep it though in case another recipe I want to try calls for it. Thanks in advance.

[Andy M.]

Dry wine just means not sweet. Look for chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio. In some super markets, you can buy little bottles that are about 10 ounces. Another is dry vermouth. Sometimes you cna get vermouth in Nips. Bottles that are just enough for one drink.

[ChefJune]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

Dry wine just means not sweet. Look for chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio. In some super markets, you can buy little bottles that are about 10 ounces. Another is dry vermouth. Sometimes you cna get vermouth in Nips. Bottles that are just enough for one drink.

Julia Child always used dry Vermouth instead of white wine for two reasons:
1. the vermouth has a lot of lovely herbs mixed in it already;
2. vermouth keeps quite a while after opening, so you don't really have much worry about its going bad;
(oops, 3.) you could always use it in a Martini!

actually, there IS a difference in vermouths. Julia preferred Noilly Prat. so do I. Get that one if you can find it. I buy the biggest bottle I can find so I always have it on hand.

[Maverick2272]

Great idea Kitchenelf!
Love the Hunter Green cabinets as well ;)

[jeninga75]

Thanks guys! I do remember seeing little mini bottles of wine in one of the fancier little markets we have here. About twice the size of those liquor airline bottles. I'm gonna see if I can get one of vermouth (that's wine? I thought it was liquor like vodka or gin ) try the recipe and if I like it I'll get a bigger bottle to have. And ChefJune, how long is quite a while. A year? More than that?

[kitchenelf]

Originally Posted by jeninga75

Thanks guys! I do remember seeing little mini bottles of wine in one of the fancier little markets we have here. About twice the size of those liquor airline bottles. I'm gonna see if I can get one of vermouth (that's wine? I thought it was liquor like vodka or gin ) try the recipe and if I like it I'll get a bigger bottle to have. And ChefJune, how long is quite a while. A year? More than that?

Yes, it will last a year or more with no problem! And you don't need to refrigerate it either. Vermouth is fortified wine - a bit different than regular wine. Fortified wines have been flavored with brandy and some have been flavored with spices, roots, herbs, such as Vermouth, and quite perfect for cooking!