Wines for cooking?

[bullseye]

I have the end of a box of Franzia in my house right now. I bought a box of Trove to replace it. I haven't tried it yet, but the woman at the liquor store said it was the best box wine they carry.

Trove, eh. I'll have to check it out--purely from a scientific research standpoint, of course!<G>

 

[FryBoy]

Dry Sherry and Dry Vermouth are also good choices. They will keep for months after being opened, and they have a lot more flavor that other white wines. Gallo makes decent dry sherry, and I like Martini & Rossi Vermouth.

For red wines, consider the little 4-packs of 187ml bottles (about 1 coup each). The Australian brand Lindeman's or the California brand Sutter Home are good choices. None of these have much tannin or oak as they're cheap and made for early consumption.

BTW, someone suggested that it's the cheap California Chardonnay's that have too much oak. In my experience, the cheapies don't have all that much, and it's some of the more expensive brands that are over the top with oak. One good choice is Columbia Crest from Washington, about $5 for a 750 ml bottle -- very little oak, good fruit.

 

[kitchenelf]

I have seen those- lol, but never the spout ! Awful big- too big for me for just cooking- which isn't often-(with wine). Just my shrimp scampi ! Thanks GB for the input !!
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Barb - you'd be surprised at what you'll put wine in if you have it on hand already.

 

[RPCookin]

Barb - you'd be surprised at what you'll put wine in if you have it on hand already.

This is a fact. Nothing better for deglazing a pan after cooking your meat course to make a base for the sauce.... also great for mushrooms sauted in butter and wine with shallots or garlic (my DW's fav). I can go through a bottle of white in no time... I'm a little bit slower in using up the red...

 

[BreezyCooking]

For cooking I always try to have the following in house: dry vermouth, dry sherry, marsala, a dry red California jug wine (usually Merlot or Burgundy), & a dry white California jug wine - usually Chablis.

Total investment for all of the above, which serve my basic cooking very well - a whopping $35.00.

 

[jennyema]

I have kept opened sherry, vermouth and marsala on the shelf for at least a year.

I freeze wine that I won't be drinking. What little of that there is.

 

[FryBoy]

Barb - you'd be surprised at what you'll put wine in if you have it on hand already.

As W.C. Fields said "I always cook with wine -- sometimes I even put it in the food!"

 

[Barb L.]

This is a fact. Nothing better for deglazing a pan after cooking your meat course to make a base for the sauce.... also great for mushrooms sauted in butter and wine with shallots or garlic (my DW's fav). I can go through a bottle of white in no time... I'm a little bit slower in using up the red...

Now that might be smething we would like, all like bella's thanks for the idea-- My Mom never cooked w/wine, and Iam 61 and trying new things-- (never too late I guess) I do prefer white wine though.

 

[Hades]

I don't know what kind of imports make it to the US, but a young, not too expensive riesling (from Luxembourg or Alsace) is my favourite for cooking with white wine. They're not spectacular for drinking (atleast not the cheap ones) but they're clean and fresh tasting and work realy well with just about anything you'd want to make a white wine sauce with.
For reds there's not too many wines that can top a Côtes du Rhône. I shy away a little from Syrah wines from the new world (Australia for example) as they are often oak ripened making them less suitable for cooking.

 

[carolelaine]

Are you guys leaving the merlot in the pantry, or if you keep it that long to cook with do you refridgerate. I cook with wine all the time, and silly me never thought about the boxed ones. This is a great tip.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Carolelaine - I keep my dry vermouth, dry sherry, marsala, madeira, & all my dry red wines in my pantry. Only the whites are refrigerated. Everything seems to do just fine.

 

[Andy M.]

I wouldn't keep opened merlot in the pantry beyond a dya or two. Refrigerate the unused portion or fill an ice cube tray and make merlot-cicles. They can be put into a plastic bag after freezing.

 

[mudbug]

This is a fact. Nothing better for deglazing a pan after cooking your meat course to make a base for the sauce.... also great for mushrooms sauted in butter and wine with shallots or garlic (my DW's fav).

*Bowing down in recognition of great wisdom of DW* amen amen amen

 

[legend_018]

Today I bought a bottle of pinot noir red for a red cooking wine and a chardonnay for a white cooking wine. Will that do? The place I went to absolutely had no dry vermouth. The white wine is called Mirassou Chardonnay.

 

[Andy M.]

The red will do fine.

In general, chardonnays are not always the best. A lot of California chards are aged in oak for an 'oaky' flavor. That can become bothersome in cooking. It's worth trying what you bought. Australian chards are less oaky.

A good choice is sauvignon blanc. There is a great selection available at a reasonable price.

You should be able to find dry vermouth easily. It's the other main ingredient in a martini.

 

[kitchenelf]

Just be sure to buy an unoaked Chard - if you stick with wiines in a box you are pretty much guaranteed that. Pinot Noir? There are less expensive wines to buy to cook with. Chablis would be a good wine to buy - and it's fairly inexpensive. But buy the box.

I keep a box of Chardonnay (no Oak fermentation) and a box of Cabernet Sauvignon or Burgundy in my cabinet to cook with. Both of these fit the bill for most wines to cook with.

 

[ChefJune]

The red will do fine.

In general, chardonnays are not always the best. A lot of California chards are aged in oak for an 'oaky' flavor. That can become bothersome in cooking. It's worth trying what you bought. Australian chards are less oaky.

A good choice is sauvignon blanc. There is a great selection available at a reasonable price.

You should be able to find dry vermouth easily. It's the other main ingredient in a martini.

Andy is spot on, but in this case, the Mirassou Chardonnay is not very oaky, and should be okay. (no pun intended )

 

[Andy M.]

Thanks, June. I don't know the Mirassou so couldn't comment directly.

 

[college_cook]

Rule of thumb for cooking with wine is that if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it. I prefer using a pinot gris or a gewurtztraminer for my white, and I've had a lot of luck with Australian Shiraz for reds.

Another nice white to cook with is Prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine. Tasty too!

 

[kitchenelf]

Rule of thumb for cooking with wine is that if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it. I prefer using a pinot gris or a gewurtztraminer for my white, and I've had a lot of luck with Australian Shiraz for reds.

Another nice white to cook with is Prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine. Tasty too!

Gewürztraminer has a tendency to be floral and sweet - what did you use it for? That might be the key. I can certainly see how it would delicately flavor scallops.

Prosecco isn't expensive at least but when cooked, it just turns into a still wine. I'd have to drink those bubbles and use something else to cook with It is my duty to "save the bubbles"