Cooking with wine

[inchrisin]

I like to drink dry wine. Red or white.

I know that you should not cook with a wine that you wouldn't want to drink.

So, if you like dry wine, do you only cook with dry wine, or do you cook with sweet wines to match the dish you're cooking?

Thoughts?

 

[GotGarlic]

I like to drink sweet wine - usually pink - but I keep Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot on hand to cook with. Except for lasagna - I get a nice barolo for that. DH drinks whatever doesn't end up in the sauce.

 

[di reston]

It depends entirely on the recipe, and what you feel like doing - also what you have in, and whether or not you're a purist when it comes to recipes. Having said that, it would have to be marsala for a zabaglione or tiramisù (which, incidentally, means 'pick-me-up' and was originally devised for people recovering from illness). Some of my recipes also require a drop or two of brandy along with the wine, such as a 'brasato al Barolo', which is a piece of beef marinated in Barolo with a touch of brandy, presented at the table in slices with the cooking juices poured over and thin slices of truffle scattered over the top. I suppose it really comes down to the style of dish you want to do rather, and your own palate, than being religiously conventional.

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

 

[Dawgluver]

For me, it depends. I like a nice dry sherry in my cream of mushroom soup. A dry red wine works well too. I tend to use dry wines in recipes, both red and white.

As for pinot grigio, it never makes it into food. Guess why?

 

[msmofet]

I use a hearty burgundy and pinot Grigio for cooking.

 

[tenspeed]

Here's Serious Eats take on cooking with wine:

Should You Really Only Cook With Wine You'd Drink? The Truth About Cooking With Wine | Serious Eats

 

[Rocklobster]

I typically keep a bottle of house white and red in the fridge for cooking. Both dry. I don't cook with red very much. I don't particularly like it with beef. I prefer brandy, Medeira, or sherry in sauces for beef. I drink the white wine on a regular basis..it is more of a swigging wine with every day dinners, nothing fancy, but quenches the thirst and compliments many meals..
I'm not opposed to using sweet wines if a recipe calls for it. I rarely buy it or use it for food or as a beverage...

 

[CraigC]

The only two exceptions to using wines that we wouldn't drink are shaoxing for Chinese and mirin for sushi rice. We use madeira, dry sherry and marsala quite a bit besides merlot, chardonay, pinot gris, cab and gewurztraminer (our favorite for onion soup).

Rock, we'll have to try your suggestions for beef! Mussels and pernod is a match that is hard to beat, IMO.

 

[medtran49]

I like to drink dry wine. Red or white.

I know that you should not cook with a wine that you wouldn't want to drink.

So, if you like dry wine, do you only cook with dry wine, or do you cook with sweet wines to match the dish you're cooking?

Thoughts?

When "they" say that, they don't mean a wine you personally wouldn't drink because you don't like that particular kind of wine. What is meant by that statement is don't use a wine that very few people, if any, would want to drink because it doesn't taste very good, whether it's just a nasty taste or way to oakey or too acidic or too anything. I don't like to drink sherry straight up, but I love it in certain soups and Latin dishes in particular. I'm also not fond of Marsala or Madeira, but I'll use them in appropriate dishes. I'm also not fond of real heavy bold reds, but I will occasionally drink them and will happily use them in and drink them with appropriate dishes.

 

[di reston]

As they say, one man's meat is another man's poison. At the end of the day it all depends on your palate and what you're happy with, both to drink and to use in cooking. We're all different and we all have different preferences. That doesn't mean that I'm right and you're wrong. It means that, as we also say, a little of what you fancy does you good. I raise a glass to that!

di reston


enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

 

[di reston]

P.S. to the above: when I was an interpreter, I also set up a business selling very prestige wines from all over Europe. It was a very exclusive enterprise, and I mainly supplied these wines to top restaurants in London and here and there throughout the UK. My main wine was Jacques Selosse Grand Cru, an extremely particular champagne, if you look it up. I passed on the contract to an exclusive top London supplier called Berry Bros and Rudd when I left the UK. I also delt in premium Bordeaux wines and Burgundy wines. It was a small but exclusive business, more for the love of wine than the profit there was in it. I obtained my Master of Wine certificate, mainly to back up the credibility of the producers I represented, but I loved the job. This is not to boast, rather to say that the main thing I learned from my clients was that everyone has a different palate and different preferences, and there's nothing wrong with any of that. My main point is to say, don't be afraid of expressing your preferences. If Burgundy and mussels are your thing, there's nothing wrong with that. The experience is in the enjoyment.

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

 

[GotGarlic]

When "they" say that, they don't mean a wine you personally wouldn't drink because you don't like that particular kind of wine.

Excellent insight, med. I completely missed that.

 

[msmofet]

I have heard chefs use the expression "use a wine you would drink" and the meaning of that statement explained as DONOT use a "cooking" wine. A "cooking" wine is mostly inferior wine and salt and not drinkable. This practice of adding salt to wine came about because restaurant owners noticed that the cooks/chefs were drinking more of the wine than using it to cook with. So the cooking wine stopped the cooks from drinking the profits. So only use a good wine you would pour in a glass and serve with a meal.

That's my understanding of that statement.

 

[GotGarlic]

I have heard chefs use the expression "use a wine you would drink" and the meaning of that statement explained as DONOT use a "cooking" wine. A "cooking" wine is mostly inferior wine and salt and not drinkable. This practice of adding salt to wine came about because restaurant owners noticed that the cooks/chefs were drinking more of the wine than using it to cook with. So the cooking wine stopped the cooks from drinking the profits. So only use a good wine you would pour in a glass and serve with a meal.

That's my understanding of that statement.

I've heard that the practice of adding salt to "cooking" wine started during Prohibition.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I like to drink dry wine. Red or white.

I know that you should not cook with a wine that you wouldn't want to drink.

So, if you like dry wine, do you only cook with dry wine, or do you cook with sweet wines to match the dish you're cooking?

Thoughts?

I think people overthink this too much. The rule should really be "use a drinkable wine," which may or may not be something you'd actually drink yourself.

If I'm adding wine to food, I typically just use whatever I have open. I prefer to stay away from sweet wines, unless a recipe specifically calls for that.

I also keep some of those airline size bottles of inexpensive wine around for cooking. Mondavi Woodbridge, I think, is what I have now. So if I have to open something, I'll use that, rather than a nice bottle I actually want to drink.

Now if a dish revolves around wine as a main ingredient (boeuf bourguignon or coq au vin, for example) then I'd suggest using a little better quality wine. But cooking it destroys any nuance anyway, so don't use anything too pricey.

Stay away from tannic and oaky wines, too. Especially for reductions. It can make for some real nasty tasting sauces. Merlot is a good red choice. For white, I like unoaked Chardonnay, or Pinot Grigio/Gris. Both are unobtrusive. I've even used a shot of brandy in a pinch.

 

[msmofet]

I've heard that the practice of adding salt to "cooking" wine started during Prohibition.

Actually I've heard both. But the one about cooks drinking the wine I have heard more often. They are probably both correct.

 

[Steve Kroll]

The reason they add salt, as far as I know, is so that it can be sold in grocery stores without having to check whether or not the purchaser is of drinking age. By adding a bunch of salt to the wine, you pretty much guarantee that it's not going to get consumed.

But beyond that, the companies that make this stuff also use the crappiest bulk wine they can buy. Then they cook it to pasteurize it. It's probably barely drinkable even before salting it up.

 

[Kayelle]

Here's Serious Eats take on cooking with wine:

Should You Really Only Cook With Wine You'd Drink? The Truth About Cooking With Wine | Serious Eats

Thanks for the link tenspeed. I'm a Kenji fan and happy to hear I've been doing it right all along.

One last tip: Boxed wine will give you some of the best bang for your buck when it comes to cooking wine, and, even more importantly, it gives you the most flexibility, since you can use as small an amount as you want without worrying about having to finish the rest of the box before it goes bad (boxed wines have an internal plastic bag that prevents any leftover wine from coming in contact with air, greatly increasing its useful shelf life). It's what I keep in my kitchen for cooking, and encourage you to do the same.

 

[GotGarlic]

Thanks for the link tenspeed. I'm a Kenji fan and happy to hear I've been doing it right all along.

Woo hoo! Me too! Actually, I have a box of pink for me and a box of Merlot for DH that I dip into. And then I have a four-pack of mini bottles of Pinot Grigio for cooking with white wine.

 

[Katie H]

The reason they add salt, as far as I know, is so that it can be sold in grocery stores without having to check whether or not the purchaser is of drinking age. By adding a bunch of salt to the wine, you pretty much guarantee that it's not going to get consumed.

But beyond that, the companies that make this stuff also use the crappiest bulk wine they can buy. Then they cook it to pasteurize it. It's probably barely drinkable even before salting it up.

Interesting...because where I live all grocery stores "card" for cooking wine just like other alcohol.

It's amusing to me since I'm nearly 70. I must be maintaining my youthful appearance quite well.