cooking wine?

Bernard Arnest said:

Hi,
In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the grocery
store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine? I ask because this
is my first year in college, and I'm 18, thus cooking wine is really
the only wine, but I want to know how it might affect a recipe and how
I might compensate.

If non-cooking-wine is the way to go (at least when home, and my dad
can buy it), do you have any best-value recommendations? Since it's
cooked and not drunk, is the dirt cheapest the way to go...?

Dry vermouth works pretty well in most recipes that call for white
wine. Keeps forever, neutral taste. Dry sherry works for some things,
depending on whether the flavor meshes with the recipe. But not
"cooking sherry," which as you note, contains salt and tastes terrible.
-aem

I agree strongly with the above poster! Amen!
Julia Child, on the TV show, The French Chef, used vermouth
always for "white wine". I use Ponti dry vermouth at Trade Joes'
for about three $/bottle, and I like it better than most other white wines
for cooking.
Kent

"Bernard Arnest" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the grocery
store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine? I ask because this
is my first year in college, and I'm 18, thus cooking wine is really
the only wine, but I want to know how it might affect a recipe and how
I might compensate.

If non-cooking-wine is the way to go (at least when home, and my dad
can buy it), do you have any best-value recommendations? Since it's
cooked and not drunk, is the dirt cheapest the way to go...?

thanks!
-Bernard Arnest

Bernard Arnest said:

Hi,
In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the
grocery
store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine? I ask because this
is my first year in college, and I'm 18, thus cooking wine is really
the only wine, but I want to know how it might affect a recipe and how

I might compensate.

If non-cooking-wine is the way to go (at least when home, and my dad

can buy it), do you have any best-value recommendations? Since it's
cooked and not drunk, is the dirt cheapest the way to go...?

thanks!
-Bernard Arnest

Avoid anything labelled 'cooking wine' try a Gallo Chenin blanc if
acquiring the wine is not a problem for you.
---
JL

cooking with wine 101: As the wine's flavor will concentrate with
cooking, don't use anything that tastes like [censored].
Unless you're into concentrated [censored].

Hi Bernard,
In your situation I wouldn't waste my money on white wine for cooking. Get
yourself a big bottle of dry vermouth. Its cheap, you only need half the
amount, it works well in cooking and you won't be tempted to drink it "-)
Otherwise try madeira, or even dry sherry. Experiment till you find the
taste you like. This will vary depending on the recipe. You can use a cheap
port too in recipes that can use some sweetness.
Good Luck!!
Richard.

"Bernard Arnest" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the grocery
store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine? I ask because this
is my first year in college, and I'm 18, thus cooking wine is really
the only wine, but I want to know how it might affect a recipe and how
I might compensate.

If non-cooking-wine is the way to go (at least when home, and my dad
can buy it), do you have any best-value recommendations? Since it's
cooked and not drunk, is the dirt cheapest the way to go...?

thanks!
-Bernard Arnest

Never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink.. That's my contribution.

Horse

"Richard Green" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi Bernard,
In your situation I wouldn't waste my money on white wine for cooking. Get
yourself a big bottle of dry vermouth. Its cheap, you only need half the
amount, it works well in cooking and you won't be tempted to drink it "-)
Otherwise try madeira, or even dry sherry. Experiment till you find the
taste you like. This will vary depending on the recipe. You can use a

cheap

Quoted message said:

port too in recipes that can use some sweetness.
Good Luck!!
Richard.

"Bernard Arnest" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the grocery
store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine? I ask because this
is my first year in college, and I'm 18, thus cooking wine is really
the only wine, but I want to know how it might affect a recipe and how
I might compensate.

If non-cooking-wine is the way to go (at least when home, and my dad
can buy it), do you have any best-value recommendations? Since it's
cooked and not drunk, is the dirt cheapest the way to go...?

thanks!
-Bernard Arnest

Never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink.. That's my contribution.

Horse

"Richard Green" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi Bernard,
In your situation I wouldn't waste my money on white wine for cooking. Get
yourself a big bottle of dry vermouth. Its cheap, you only need half the
amount, it works well in cooking and you won't be tempted to drink it "-)
Otherwise try madeira, or even dry sherry. Experiment till you find the
taste you like. This will vary depending on the recipe. You can use a

cheap

Quoted message said:

port too in recipes that can use some sweetness.
Good Luck!!
Richard.

"Bernard Arnest" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the grocery
store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine? I ask because this
is my first year in college, and I'm 18, thus cooking wine is really
the only wine, but I want to know how it might affect a recipe and how
I might compensate.

If non-cooking-wine is the way to go (at least when home, and my dad
can buy it), do you have any best-value recommendations? Since it's
cooked and not drunk, is the dirt cheapest the way to go...?

thanks!
-Bernard Arnest

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bernard Arnest said:

Hi,
In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the grocery
store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine? I ask because this
is my first year in college, and I'm 18, thus cooking wine is really
the only wine, but I want to know how it might affect a recipe and how
I might compensate.

If non-cooking-wine is the way to go (at least when home, and my dad
can buy it), do you have any best-value recommendations? Since it's
cooked and not drunk, is the dirt cheapest the way to go...?

Whatever you like that's in your budget is fine. Cooking wine from
grocery stores tends to be a bad choice because its mostly salt and low
quality wine. You might enjoy those recipes that call for wine more if
you go to a wine store and buy an inexpensive bottle of wine. A rule of
thumb is that if you don't enjoy drinking a wine, don't cook with it.

<snipped a bit>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the grocery
store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine? >

Whatever you like that's in your budget is fine. Cooking wine from
grocery stores tends to be a bad choice because its mostly salt and low
quality wine.

Ok, I have to ask...I've never heard of "cooking wine" as such, and am
wondering what the heck is salt doing in wine? I Googled a bit, but didn't
find much about why. Cooking wine to me (and I would say with some
confidence, most other Aussies) is "normal" wine that you cook with.

Granted, maybe I'm just showing some ignorance about stuff from O/S, but I
live in a great wine-growing state (Sth Australia) with many wonderful
wineries 1 hour North of me (Barossa Valley, Clare Valley), and several
others 1 hour South of me (McLaren Vale, Clarendon, the Southern Vales), and
maybe even better wine country another couple of hours away (Coonawarra,
etc), but I've never heard of salt in wine.

I've always followed my parents' advice (mum a great Italian home cook, and
dad a chef) that if I couldn't drink the stuff, I shouldn't cook with it,
but it was always normal bottled or even cask wine.

Thanks in advance
Maria
a somewhat confused, occasional wine drinker :-)

MG wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Ok, I have to ask...I've never heard of "cooking wine" as such, and am
wondering what the heck is salt doing in wine? I Googled a bit, but didn't
find much about why. Cooking wine to me (and I would say with some
confidence, most other Aussies) is "normal" wine that you cook with.

<snip>

The story I always used to hear was that cooking wine was salted
to discourage the servants from taking a nip.

"MG" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<snipped a bit>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the
grocery
store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine? >

Whatever you like that's in your budget is fine. Cooking wine from
grocery stores tends to be a bad choice because its mostly salt and
low
quality wine.

Ok, I have to ask...I've never heard of "cooking wine" as such, and am
wondering what the heck is salt doing in wine? I Googled a bit, but
didn't find much about why. Cooking wine to me (and I would say with
some confidence, most other Aussies) is "normal" wine that you cook
with.

Granted, maybe I'm just showing some ignorance about stuff from O/S,
but I live in a great wine-growing state (Sth Australia) with many
wonderful wineries 1 hour North of me (Barossa Valley, Clare Valley),
and several others 1 hour South of me (McLaren Vale, Clarendon, the
Southern Vales), and maybe even better wine country another couple of
hours away (Coonawarra, etc), but I've never heard of salt in wine.

I've always followed my parents' advice (mum a great Italian home
cook, and dad a chef) that if I couldn't drink the stuff, I shouldn't
cook with it, but it was always normal bottled or even cask wine.

Thanks in advance
Maria
a somewhat confused, occasional wine drinker :-)

I believe the development of cooking wine has something to do with laws
regarding wine sales. In many US states, it was (and often still is)
illegal to sell "normal" wines in places other than liquor stores.
Cooking wines were okay to sell in grocery stores.

-T

"Bernard Arnest" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi,
In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the grocery
store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine? I ask because this
is my first year in college, and I'm 18, thus cooking wine is really
the only wine, but I want to know how it might affect a recipe and how
I might compensate.

If non-cooking-wine is the way to go (at least when home, and my dad
can buy it), do you have any best-value recommendations? Since it's
cooked and not drunk, is the dirt cheapest the way to go...?

thanks!
-Bernard Arnest

Keep in mind that wine freezes pretty well. If you are only using a
small amount, pour the rest in ice cube trays, and then move it to
plastic bags after it freezes.

-T

Richard Green said:

Hi Bernard,
In your situation I wouldn't waste my money on white wine for cooking. Get
yourself a big bottle of dry vermouth. Its cheap, you only need half the
amount, it works well in cooking and you won't be tempted to drink it "-)

5 parts gin, 1 part dry vermouth, ice, shake (not stir), strain into
glass, add green olive. Why wouldn't you be tempted to drink that?
-aem

Yes.........now you're talking. "Cooking martinis" - forget the bloody
cooking "wine".
"aem" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Richard Green said:

Hi Bernard,
In your situation I wouldn't waste my money on white wine for cooking.
Get
yourself a big bottle of dry vermouth. Its cheap, you only need half the
amount, it works well in cooking and you won't be tempted to drink it "-)

5 parts gin, 1 part dry vermouth, ice, shake (not stir), strain into
glass, add green olive. Why wouldn't you be tempted to drink that?
-aem

"skoonj" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"MG" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

<snipped a bit>

Quoted message said:

> In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the grocery
> store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
> with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine? >
Whatever you like that's in your budget is fine. Cooking wine from
grocery stores tends to be a bad choice because its mostly salt and low
quality wine.

Ok, I have to ask...I've never heard of "cooking wine" as such, and am
wondering what the heck is salt doing in wine? I Googled a bit, but
didn't find much about why. Cooking wine to me (and I would say with
some confidence, most other Aussies) is "normal" wine that you cook with.

Granted, maybe I'm just showing some ignorance about stuff from O/S, but
I live in a great wine-growing state (Sth Australia) with many wonderful
wineries 1 hour North of me (Barossa Valley, Clare Valley), and several
others 1 hour South of me (McLaren Vale, Clarendon, the Southern Vales),
and maybe even better wine country another couple of hours away
(Coonawarra, etc), but I've never heard of salt in wine.

I've always followed my parents' advice (mum a great Italian home cook,
and dad a chef) that if I couldn't drink the stuff, I shouldn't cook with
it, but it was always normal bottled or even cask wine.

Thanks in advance
Maria
a somewhat confused, occasional wine drinker :-)

I believe the development of cooking wine has something to do with laws
regarding wine sales. In many US states, it was (and often still is)
illegal to sell "normal" wines in places other than liquor stores. Cooking
wines were okay to sell in grocery stores.

-T

OK, that must be why we don't have that here...it's also illegal here to
sell alcoholic drinks in grocery stores, but manufacturers haven't gone the
path of adding salt to them so they can do so (maybe there's a law against
selling salted wines here? who knows?! lol)

there are a couple of grocery stores/supermarkets which often have their own
liquor store nearby or in the same shopping mall, so I guess it's just as
convenient for the consumer to go there for their alcohol rather than expect
it to be at the supermarket

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bernard Arnest said:

Hi,
In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the grocery
store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine? I ask because this
is my first year in college, and I'm 18, thus cooking wine is really
the only wine, but I want to know how it might affect a recipe and how
I might compensate.

Quoted message said:

thanks!
-Bernard Arnest

Don't cook with any wine you wouldn't drink from a glass.
I usually have dry sherry and dry vermouth in the fridge for cooking
purposes. Have never used a recipe that specified a particular kind of
wine, I guess. Neither is very expensive.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> Sam I Am! updated 9-12-05

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bernard Arnest said:

In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the grocery
store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine?

Salt? Ugh. I would never cook with a wine I wouldn't drink from a
glass. Chefs I have asked have told me also, the quality of the
food depends in good part on the quality of the ingredients. Use
poor ingredients, get a poor result.

Quoted message said:

If non-cooking-wine is the way to go (at least when home, and my dad
can buy it), do you have any best-value recommendations? Since it's
cooked and not drunk, is the dirt cheapest the way to go...?

If there's a Trader Joe's in your area, pick up a few bottles of
"Two Buck Chuck" ...er, Charles Shaw wine. It's $3/bottle, and
quite drinkable all by itself. It's cheap enough that you can use
it for cooking, and tasty enough that you can drink it while you
eat.

-A
[posted and emailed]

In article <[email hidden]>,

Bernard Arnest said:

In recipes that call for white wine, is cooking wine from the grocery
store fine, or does it offer poor flavor, too much salt, or conflict
with the rest of the seasoning vs. standard wine?

Salt? Ugh. I would never cook with a wine I wouldn't drink from a
glass. Chefs I have asked have told me also, the quality of the
food depends in good part on the quality of the ingredients. Use
poor ingredients, get a poor result.

Quoted message said:

If non-cooking-wine is the way to go (at least when home, and my dad
can buy it), do you have any best-value recommendations? Since it's
cooked and not drunk, is the dirt cheapest the way to go...?

If there's a Trader Joe's in your area, pick up a few bottles of
"Two Buck Chuck" ...er, Charles Shaw wine. It's $3/bottle, and
quite drinkable all by itself. It's cheap enough that you can use
it for cooking, and tasty enough that you can drink it while you
eat.

-A
[posted and emailed]

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] (axlq)

Quoted message said:

If there's a Trader Joe's in your area, pick up a few bottles of
"Two Buck Chuck" ...er, Charles Shaw wine. It's $3/bottle, and
quite drinkable all by itself. It's cheap enough that you can use
it for cooking, and tasty enough that you can drink it while you
eat.

I second the recommendation, but the reason that it's called "two buck
Chuck" is because it costs US$1.99, not $3.