# I opened up a bottle of non-alcoholic wine to cook with a week ago, is it fresh to use tonight? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** wine\ **Created:** [March 11, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-opened-up-a-bottle-of-non-alcoholic-wine-to-cook-with-a-week-ago-is-it-fresh-to-use-tonight/532063 "2010-03-11T02:34:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-opened-up-a-bottle-of-non-alcoholic-wine-to-cook-with-a-week-ago-is-it-fresh-to-use-tonight/532063/21 "2010-03-12T14:39:56Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Well. Fuck. I just looked up beer battered foods, and found out they don’t get rid of the alcohol either. I’m on benzodiazepine withdrawal, and even a drop of alcohol can make the torture last longer. I sat at a restaurant eating those beer-battered onion rings, thinking they were the greatest thing ever. Because I was assured that the alcohol got cooked out. > > I’m going to use a word I never thought I’d use: Fuck those CUNTS who lied to me about this shit if they added even half a second to my agony. And I’m only using that word because the words I want to use are flatout verboten here. I doubt you’d be dealing with even a drop of alcohol. Beer is about 3-5% alcohol, then it is mixed with flour and a few other ingredients to make the batter, then a good bit is cooked out in the frying process. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-opened-up-a-bottle-of-non-alcoholic-wine-to-cook-with-a-week-ago-is-it-fresh-to-use-tonight/532063/22 "2010-03-12T14:45:04Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > I read that wine should be consumed at one time, because once it is exposed to oxygen it goes bad. But I have non-alcoholic Chardonney, and I have refridgerated it…does the same rule still apply? One of the main reasons recipes call for using alcohol in it isn’t just for the taste of the wine/alcohol itself - it’s because many flavors are alcohol soluable and NEED alcohol to be released. Using non-alcoholic wine defeats that intention. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-opened-up-a-bottle-of-non-alcoholic-wine-to-cook-with-a-week-ago-is-it-fresh-to-use-tonight/532063/23 "2010-03-13T04:03:45Z")
I used non-alcohol wine for cooking just last week (both red and white), and it works fine. There is virtually no difference in flavor in the finished product. The wine flavor is what remains, and if there are flavors that need alcohol to be released, well, they must not have been present in the first place. I wonder if that’s a fact, or just passed along so often that people assume it must be true. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-opened-up-a-bottle-of-non-alcoholic-wine-to-cook-with-a-week-ago-is-it-fresh-to-use-tonight/532063/24 "2010-03-13T04:07:19Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I used non-alcohol wine for cooking just last week (both red and white), and it works fine. There is virtually no difference in flavor in the finished product. The wine flavor is what remains, and if there are flavors that need alcohol to be released, well, they must not have been present in the first place. I wonder if that’s a fact, or just passed along so often that people assume it must be true. Does decaf coffee have the same flavor as caffeinated? Huh? Huh? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-opened-up-a-bottle-of-non-alcoholic-wine-to-cook-with-a-week-ago-is-it-fresh-to-use-tonight/532063/25 "2010-03-13T04:47:48Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I used non-alcohol wine for cooking just last week (both red and white), and it works fine. There is virtually no difference in flavor in the finished product. The wine flavor is what remains, and if there are flavors that need alcohol to be released, well, they must not have been present in the first place. I wonder if that’s a fact, or just passed along so often that people assume it must be true. Alton Brown said it\*, I believe it, that settles it. \*About tomatoes, at least. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-opened-up-a-bottle-of-non-alcoholic-wine-to-cook-with-a-week-ago-is-it-fresh-to-use-tonight/532063/26 "2010-03-13T07:16:18Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Does decaf coffee have the same flavor as caffeinated? Huh? Huh? > 🙂 That hit me where it hurts! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-opened-up-a-bottle-of-non-alcoholic-wine-to-cook-with-a-week-ago-is-it-fresh-to-use-tonight/532063/27 "2010-03-13T07:19:52Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Alton Brown said it\*, I believe it, that settles it. > > \*About tomatoes, at least. Alton Brown didn’t taste my braised beef short ribs (with non-alcoholic red wine). ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-opened-up-a-bottle-of-non-alcoholic-wine-to-cook-with-a-week-ago-is-it-fresh-to-use-tonight/532063/28 "2010-03-13T08:18:10Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I used non-alcohol wine for cooking just last week (both red and white), and it works fine. There is virtually no difference in flavor in the finished product. The wine flavor is what remains, and if there are flavors that need alcohol to be released, well, they must not have been present in the first place. I wonder if that’s a fact, or just passed along so often that people assume it must be true. Care to waste a little vodka? Lightly chop a tomato, and separate it into two glasses. Pour a cup of water over one, and a cup of vodka (or other clear alcohol) over the other. Wait ten minutes, then just look at it and tell me that there’s no such thing as alcohol-solublity: the vodka one will look like weak V8, the water one will look like, well, wet tomato chunks. Capsaicin is the same way, although I’ve never done the experiment and have no idea if the effect is visible with hot peppers. Then throw it all away, because there’s really nothing on earth worse than tomato vodka (although I don’t like any drinking alcohol, I sometimes use it in cooking). ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2010, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-opened-up-a-bottle-of-non-alcoholic-wine-to-cook-with-a-week-ago-is-it-fresh-to-use-tonight/532063/29 "2010-03-13T09:19:22Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > Care to waste a little vodka? Lightly chop a tomato, and separate it into two glasses. Pour a cup of water over one, and a cup of vodka (or other clear alcohol) over the other. Wait ten minutes, then just look at it and tell me that there’s no such thing as alcohol-solublity: the vodka one will look like weak V8, the water one will look like, well, wet tomato chunks. Capsaicin is the same way, although I’ve never done the experiment and have no idea if the effect is visible with hot peppers. > > Then throw it all away, because there’s really nothing on earth worse than tomato vodka (although I don’t like any drinking alcohol, I sometimes use it in cooking). I suspect 400 deg F will have the same effect. Sugar and salt do, too. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-opened-up-a-bottle-of-non-alcoholic-wine-to-cook-with-a-week-ago-is-it-fresh-to-use-tonight/532063/30 "2010-03-14T01:24:33Z")
There are some non-alcoholic wines that taste fine for cooking. They are not “grape juice.” Some people can’t have alcohol–people waiting for a liver transplant, for example, or with hepatitis, or who are in sobriety–who might still like to have a dish flavored with wine. Alcohol does not entirely burn off with cooking. Beef stew made with non-alcoholic wine is much better than beef stew without, or beef stew made with either cider vinegar or grape juice–believe me, I’ve tried all of these while cooking for people with hepatitis. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2010, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-opened-up-a-bottle-of-non-alcoholic-wine-to-cook-with-a-week-ago-is-it-fresh-to-use-tonight/532063/31 "2010-03-14T05:15:34Z")
The alcohol does not evaporate completely when cooking. It’s one of the reasons I’ve never used wine in my cooking. (I won’t go into it here.) I think it’s important when people ask a question like that here that others posting might want to dial down the food snobbery a bit and just answer the question if they can. One does not know why the OP is choosing a non-alcoholic product and it’s bad manners to ask why if the reason isn’t offered. Jumping all over them for choosing to use something that you wouldn’t choose to use is also bad manners. Just sayin’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-opened-up-a-bottle-of-non-alcoholic-wine-to-cook-with-a-week-ago-is-it-fresh-to-use-tonight/532063.md?page=1)