# ethyl alcohol as a food ingredient?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-alcohol-as-a-food-ingredient/721041>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 28, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-alcohol-as-a-food-ingredient/721041 "2015-05-28T13:36:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 9\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-alcohol-as-a-food-ingredient/721041/1 "2015-05-28T13:36:30Z")

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Glancing at the ingredients list for a store-bought pastry, among all the sodium benzoate this and propylene glycol that, I noticed that ethyl alcohol was included. 😕 Now, it’s way lower down the list (between maltodextrin and mono- & diglycerides) so I understand there’s not a whole lot of it, but why on earth would it be used in the first place? Is it a preservative of some kind?

I can post a pic of the ingredients list if that would help. (“Cite?”) This is a Blackberry Pie (With Other Natural Flavors) And REAL FRUIT FILLING if that makes any difference.  
_ **Bonus question:** _ would that alcohol presence be detectable by any testing device after consuming the pastry, or would it evaporate during the baking process and/or while the item is sitting on the store shelf?

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**Author:** ![Anaglyph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anaglyph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaglyph)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-alcohol-as-a-food-ingredient/721041/2 "2015-05-28T13:43:46Z")

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Ethyl alcohol may be a component of flavouring extracts, e.g Vanilla extract is a solution containing the flavor compound vanillin as the primary ingredient. Pure vanilla extract is made by macerating and percolating vanilla beans in a solution of ethyl alcohol and water. In the United States, in order for a vanilla extract to be called pure, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that the solution contains a minimum of 35% alcohol and 100g of vanilla beans per litre (13.35 ounces per gallon)

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-alcohol-as-a-food-ingredient/721041/3 "2015-05-28T13:46:15Z")

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Alcohol is sometimes used in crusts to promote a softer dough. Google “vodka crust.” Usually, though, there’s a good bit of it, so it might be used for something else, like alcohol soluble flavoring mentioned above.

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**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-alcohol-as-a-food-ingredient/721041/4 "2015-05-28T15:21:27Z")

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It’s also a way to prevent hard freezing in some homemade low/no sugar ice cream recipes, but used in generous amounts.

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**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-alcohol-as-a-food-ingredient/721041/5 "2015-05-28T15:30:28Z")

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> [@Anaglyph](#):
>
> Ethyl alcohol may be a component of flavouring extracts, e.g Vanilla extract is a solution containing the flavor compound vanillin as the primary ingredient. Pure vanilla extract is made by macerating and percolating vanilla beans in a solution of ethyl alcohol and water. In the United States, in order for a vanilla extract to be called pure, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires that the solution contains a minimum of 35% alcohol and 100g of vanilla beans per litre (13.35 ounces per gallon)

If this were the case here, wouldn’t it just be listed as “vanilla extract” on the pastry’s ingredients list? Not being persnickety about your response, just trying to parse the details of what is(n’t) required by U.S. labeling laws.

**pulykamell** , you may be onto something. I’ve heard of - heck, made once - a vodka-based pie crust.

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**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-alcohol-as-a-food-ingredient/721041/6 "2015-05-28T15:38:09Z")

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Ethyl alcohol is a useful food-grade solvent. Besides common things like vanilla extract, it could be in many ingredients, probably in amounts well below normal labeling requirements. Some food makers are scrupulous about listing every ingredient that might be of concern to buyers, even if it could be bundled into another item’s notation or a catchall like “natural flavorings” according to FDA regs.

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**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-alcohol-as-a-food-ingredient/721041/7 "2015-05-28T15:47:19Z")

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> [@kanicbird](#):
>
> It’s also a way to prevent hard freezing in some homemade low/no sugar ice cream recipes, but used in generous amounts.

Up to 3 tablespoons per quart isn’t really ‘generous’ in my book; the point is to use it as a natural anti-freeze, not to booze it up in most cases, hence the use of vodka in most recipes that call for ethanol.

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**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-alcohol-as-a-food-ingredient/721041/8 "2015-05-28T16:10:28Z")

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As to the alcoholic content being cooked off - it depends…

> [@](#):
>
> What we found out has really surprised us. The conventional wisdom accepted by just about everyone in the food world is that all the alcohol you add to a dish evaporates or dissipates during cooking. It’s wrong. In fact, you have to cook something for a good three hours to eradicate virtually all traces of alcohol. And some cooking methods are less effective at removing alcohol than just letting it stand out uncovered overnight.

[This site](http://www.ochef.com/165.htm) has a nice table.

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**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ethyl-alcohol-as-a-food-ingredient/721041/9 "2015-05-28T22:26:24Z")

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> [@bump](#):
>
> Up to 3 tablespoons per quart isn’t really ‘generous’ in my book; the point is to use it as a natural anti-freeze, not to booze it up in most cases, hence the use of vodka in most recipes that call for ethanol.

You have not tried the recipes that I have, don’t expect to drive home tonight.