Video Recipes

Substitutions for Cooking Alcohol

When viewing video recipes, you will sometimes find alcohol used to flavor and moisten gourmet food. If you don’t drink liquor, you may wonder if the alcohol cooks out of these foods. Although many chefs will tell you the answer is yes, the fact is it takes about 3 hours of cooking to remove all traces of alcohol. So, if you don’t want to consume liquor, you’ll be happy to know it’s easy to find a good substitute for it when you’re cooking.

In addition, some video recipes call for types of alcohol that might be difficult to find in your area. Or, perhaps the cost of that particular bottle is out of your budget. Again, remember you can always substitute the alcohol (except when making a flambé). The flavor of the dish will be slightly altered, but will still be excellent.

The most common substitutions for any type of alcohol are stock, broth, and water. Water is the least desirable, because it adds no flavor to the dish. For light flavor, vegetable or poultry stock or broth is appropriate. For more hearty flavor, beef or possibly even mushroom broth or stock is best.

For wine or beer, non-alcoholic versions are readily available, and may be used for cooking. Be sure to buy like products. For example, if the video recipe calls for dark beer, buy dark, non-alcoholic beer, not non-alcoholic light beer.

For other substitutions, read on.

Amaretto: Almond extract

Beer: for light beer, chicken stock or white grape juice; beef stock for dark beer.

Berry Wine: fruit liqueur or juice corresponding to the flavor of the wine

Brandy: bourbon or Scotch. If the brandy called for is fruity, or substitute an appropriate fruit juice.

Calvados: apple juice

Chambord: raspberry juice or syrup

Champagne: sparkling white grape juice or ginger ale

Claret: diluted grape juice

Cognac: brandy, Scotch, or whiskey. Or pear, peach, or apricot juice

Curacao: orange juice

Fortified Wine: sparkling wine or sparkling juice

Framboise: raspberry juice or syrup

Galliano: licorice extract

Grand Marnier: orange juice

Grappa: grape juice

Grenadine: pomegranate juice or syrup

Hard Cider: apple cider

Kirsch: juice or syrup from black cherry, raspberry, boysenberry, red grape, or currants

Madeira: dry port, dry vermouth, or dry sherry

Marsala: madeira or sherry

Muscat: Port, or (for every cup) 1/2 cup white wine and 1/2 cup water and 1/3 cup sugar

Red Burgundy: red wine vinegar or grape juice

Red Wine: diluted red wine vinegar

Rum: rum extract or molasses diluted with pineapple juice and a little almond extract

Sake: rice vinegar

Schnapps: extract corresponding to the flavor of the alcohol

Sherry: port, Madeira, dry vermouth, or fruit juice

Sparkling Wine: sparkling grape juice, or chardonnay

Vermouth: non-alcoholic sweet wine, dark grape juice, apple juice, or balsamic vinegar for light Vermouth. For dry Vermouth, non-alcoholic white wine, white wine vinegar, or white grape juice

Vodka: gin, white rum or dry white wine

White Burgundy: non-alcoholic wine or white grape juice diluted with white wine vinegar

White Wine: ginger ale, diluted white wine vinegar, or diluted apple cider vinegar