Antabuse (disulfiram) blocks the liver’s ability to transform an alcohol metabolite, and this metabolite is extremely toxic and causes severe flushing, nausea, and vomiting that lasts for a few hours. It must be taken by the patient with their full cooperation (no sneaking it into a spouse’s breakfast, that kind of thing) and obviously isn’t used much because most alcoholics won’t benefit from it, and the ones that are usually don’t take it.
To be honest, I’ve never heard ownership prohibited in a court order. Consumption of alcohol certainly is prohibited in pretty much all probation orders, as well as consuming drugs “except as prescribed by a licensed physician or dentist.” In a few instances, I even recall the judge ordering the person not to attend at a place where alcohol is sold or served (bars, liquor stores, licensed restaurants, etc.).
But I don’t recall ownership forbidden. Thinking about it, there are many household things containing alcohol that could run afoul of such an order: vanilla extract, mouthwash, cooking wine (labelled as such, and with a lot of salt), and so on. Even so-called non-alcoholic beer could contain up to 0.5% abv.
Of course, jurisdictions can and do differ in their approaches to the details. As long as the person in question understands that the no-ownership/no-consumption order applies to beer, wine, and spirits, then that’s all that matters.
Ditto. It’s completely undrinkable. It may not seem like a lot of salt, but it REALLY is.
How does anyone know what was in the bottle? If it was a problem with her parole/probation she could have had someone replace the cooking sherry in the bottle with colored water.
I know that things are different in the US, but “cooking wine”? With added salt? Is ‘cooking wine’ more expensive than a cheap bottle of plonk from a supermarket?
When I use wine in a recipe it is vin ordinaire. I do have some “red wine flavour” which I bought for a dinner with a teetotal friend, but TBH it wasn’t that great. As for salt, I want to control the amount in the food and have a tendency to glare at people who ‘automatically’ reach for the salt cellar.
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We used to be involved with the Girl Guides and sometimes helped with the catering on Brownie weekends away. For Sunday lunch we served roast meat etc and red or white grape juice as pretend wine. On one occasion we had an official complaint about serving wine to small children.
Given that you can easily get 40% of the alcohol still remaining in baked goods, the percentage remaining in stews/chilies/etc. has to be fairly decent.
Yes, cooking wine is something sold in supermarkets, which is far more expensive on a per volume basis than just buying a cheap bottle of wine. It’s usually sold in smaller containers than wine (8 or 12 oz. vs 25 oz.), so the sticker price doesn’t seem as bad however.
Note that in a lot of the USA, you can’t buy wine in a supermarket, you have to make a special trip to a liquour store. So if you’re just shopping for a recipe, it’s a pain in the ass to make an extra stop just for wine, hence the creation of cooking wine.
Having said all that, I strongly doubt that Martha was actually using pre-salted cooking wine from a supermarket. She was probably using just wine, which is what every TV cook (and real cook) does.
Your cite says that the 40% remaining alcohol applies to goods that are baked for 15 minutes. Goods baked for 2 1/2 hours only have 5% remaining alcohol. Stews & chili simmer for at least 2 hours IME, so they’ve probably closer to 5% than 40%
IIRC cooking wine/sherry also isn’t subject to alcohol taxes nor is it controlled by state/regional “liquor control” boards.
not that you should use it, it’s still junk.
Yes it is absolutely repulsive. Our supermarket used to not have a liquor section, so, once–only once–I bought the “cooking wine” for a recipe, as I didn’t feel like going to another store just to get wine. Never again. Thankfully, they have long since gotten the licensing to sell wine, beer, and spirits, so I can get sherry and port there, as well, without having to make a special trip.
The other thing is, at least around here, you don’t get carded (asked for an ID to show proof of age) for cooking wine, so you can have one of your kids buy some while they’re helping you run errands if you were so inclined to. But not that I would ever want to. Looking online, cooking wine contains as much as a teaspoon of salt per cup of liquid.
Soy Sauce would probably be a better alternative.
Blech. Never knew that about cooking wine. Thanks - ignorance fought!
Cooking wine is not considered an alcoholic beverage and does not have restrictions on its sale (age of purchaser, time of day, dry county, etc.) any more than the mouthwash or vanilla extract mentioned above. Similarly, it would not be of concern for probation or parole.
Count yourself lucky!
Disgustin’ stuff.
First time I heard of such a thing as well. I mean, in Spain we do have the concept of “oh God that swill is barely good to cook with”, but one reason my mother’s stews used to be so good was that she used Dad’s Christmas gifts from his job rather than the cheap stuff.
Piper, you have it in Canada too?
Not Piper, but I can attest that cooking wine exists in Canada too.
I see it as a convenience for those who, for whatever reason, never or rarely buy or consume alcohol. Remember, in most provinces of Canada, alcohol can only be purchased in liquor stores. There are some small exceptions (Quebec allows beer and wine in convenience stores and supermarkets, and I believe Ontario allows a small selection of beer and wine in a few supermarkets), but for the most part, if you want beverage alcohol in Canada, you go to a liquor store.
So, being able to buy cooking wine in a supermarket means that a non-drinker can still cook with wine. They can get it at the same time as they get groceries; they don’t have to buy a full bottle, most of which won’t be used in the recipe or subsequently consumed; or pay the cost (at my local liquor store, the cheapest bottle of plonk costs $10). A smaller bottle of cooking wine from the supermarket is more convenient and cheaper than a special trip to the liquor store for the real stuff.
I just came in to say that I miss-read the title as “Prohibition and Cooking Alcohol”.
That might be interesting also.
FWIW, when making pastry, using vodka (or any white spirit) as 50% of the liquid (typically measured in teaspoons, so it’s not a large amount)
The reason being that +/- 40 to 50% of the vodka (the alcohol content) will evaporate during baking, and the pastry will be much lighter in consequence.
One thing it does change is that the supermarket will sell it to underage shoppers. And (at least in the supermarkets in California) they don’t charge sales tax for cooking wine.
That’s just an aside, and has no bearing on what restrictions paroled convicts face.
I remember Alton Brown recommending vodka (or similar proof liquor) for pie crusts; his reasoning was that the 40% alcohol would reduce gluten formation (keeping the crust from being tough) while still being “wet” enough to make the dough workable.