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Cooking with alcohol


Cooking with alcohol can mean cooking with alcohol as an ingredient, combusting alcohol for heat or effect, or both at the same time.

Wine, especially, is used as an ingredient for its acidic properties, for the bitterness of its tannins, and for its fruit components. Beer and liqueurs are also commonly used as alcoholic ingredients. For a flambé, in which warm alcohol is ignited, the higher alcohol content of a distilled spirit is required.

Many dishes incorporate alcoholic beverages into the food itself. Such dishes include coq au vin, chicken cacciatore, and boeuf bourguignon. More modern examples are beer grilled chicken and bratwursts boiled in beer. Adding beer, instead of water, to chili during cooking is popular. An overnight marinade of chicken, pork or beef in beer and spices is another example.

Specialist cooking wines, liqueurs, vermouths and eaux de vie are widely used by professional chefs to enhance flavour in traditional and modern dishes. These are specially created to be an ingredient in cooking, not a beverage. As well as offering excellent value for money, they have a longer shelf life which avoids wastage. The addition of specialist cooking wines, liqueurs and vermouths adds flavour to finished meat and fish dishes; desserts benefit from the use of sweet or dry wines. In addition, the use of specialist cooking wine in marinades can tenderise meat and is of particular benefit to game dishes. Many chefs discourage serving the same alcoholic beverage with the meal that was cooked using it.

Flambé is a technique where alcohol, such as brandy, is poured on top of a dish and then ignited to create a stunning visual presentation.


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