Very sorry Belle, in attacking a sudden invasion of spammers I managed to delete your post rather than reply to it. I've paraphrased it as best I can remember but please resubmit it or add any points I've missed out. Winton

At the weekend I'll be cooking a beef dish, the ingredients including a bottle of Guinness. I'll be cooking it covered, in the oven for about an hour and a half.

Will all the alcohol in the stout be evaporated or will some remain?

With apologies again to Belle!

This is a hotly debated issue but the general consensus seems to be 'most but not all' alcohol will evaporate.' Even left at room temperature overnight there will be a reduction in alcohol but on cooking alcohol will evaporate at 172F (compared to water at 212F.) On simmering a stew at 203F most alcohol will evaporate over a period of time.

The most quoted source is the 'burn off chart' from the US Dept. of Agriculture's Nutrient Data Laboratory:

Preparation Method Percent Retained

alcohol added to boiling liquid & removed from heat 85%

alcohol flamed 75%

no heat, stored overnight 70%

baked, 25 minutes, alcohol not stirred into mixture 45%

Baked/simmered dishes with alcohol stirred into mixture:

15 minutes cooking time 40%

30 minutes cooking time 35%

1 hour cooking time 25%

1.5 hours cooking time 20%

2 hours cooking time 10%

2.5 hours cooking time 5%

So after three hours there should be virtually none left but but you could not be categorical that was actually none.

The thing is though that the flavour remains, for example, wine in stews can be tasted very well.

We can't go by the boiling point of alcohol alone here, because other things are added to it, like meat, spices, salt, onions/vegetables/sugar etc. They must have some effect on it's boiling point/evaporation. A fair amount must remain, because you can taste it.

Lapis, you are wanted for a scientific answer :-)!

Ye, the idea of ' cooking with wine' should be the flavour of the wine should intensify with cooking while the 'harshness' of the alcohol evaporates off.

Hence the mamtra of 'don't cook with what you wouldn't drink' I think is a pretty good yardstick.

Winton

wow.....ive always thought that all the alchohol would disappear during cooking. I honestly feel misled by the TV chefs who always say that it does. I often make steak and stout pie. Last saturday I made lamb shanks with red wine.(in my new slow cooker, YUM)...my wife who is 8 months pregnant yet again said are you sure all that alcohol disappears? Sure, of course it does I say every time! Eeeek!

Hi Steve, I wouldn't treat yourself too harshly on my (amateur) reckoning!

This could be wishful thinking but, if you add a 150ml glass of 12% alcohol wine to a stew, after a few hours cooking even if 10% of that alcohol is retained and the wine was 10% of the original volume of the stew, the alcohol content of your stew as a whole would be 0.12% ?? By comparison mouthwash can contain over 25% alcohol (although admittedly you are unlikely to drink it!)

The flavour of the wine should seem a lot more though as it will intensify as fast as the alcohol 'burns off.' I have cooked with alcohol free (de-alcoholised) wine with success, and also chicken with Cobra Zero% Lager if your wife is looking for a totally alcohol free pregnancy.

Anyway, every best wish on your wife's final month's pregnancy, at least the weather should be 'temperate' in Australia?

Winton

SteveAus, congratulations and good luck with the impending new arrival :-).

Thanks Winton and Mamta....yep a monthish to go....but they could come any day now......TWIN BOYS! Eeek. Oh and Winton its cold now in Canberra (South East Australia), having lights frosts overnight.

Cheers

Steve

Best wishes

Best wishes

For both :-)!