# What can you cook with white zinfandel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 3, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-cook-with-white-zinfandel/379009 "2006-11-03T19:09:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jaderabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@jaderabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaderabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-cook-with-white-zinfandel/379009/1 "2006-11-03T19:09:32Z")
Friends and well-mannered guests sometimes give my husband and me gifts of wine. We don’t drink very much. If they’re dinner guests, we’re happy to open the bottle they brought. But if they’re not, we need to find some way to use it. We’ve found ways to cook with red wine (pasta sauce), white wine (fish), hard cider (braising vegetables), and beer (bread). But I have no idea what to do with a blush wine. We currently have three bottles of white zinfandel, and I really don’t know how to use them up. Please post your suggestions and recipes, understanding that: a) Drinking them is pretty much out. b) I’ve already heard the drain cleaner jokes. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-cook-with-white-zinfandel/379009/2 "2006-11-03T19:24:25Z")
It can be used in most recipes calling for white wine that also call for fruit - so pork chops with cherries or peaches, Chicken breasts with lemon and herbs (marjoram pairs nicely with white zin’s sweetness), poached pears, sliced peaches or strawberries, etc. OR with salty things like ham, prosciutto, salty cheeses, etc. Here’s a neat looking recipe for [White Zinfandel Jelly](http://www.recipezaar.com/101956), which would make good gifts for the holiday season - you could give them their wine back in a new and improved form! This one for [Chicken breasts](http://www.recipezaar.com/18979) is really good; I tried it a few weeks ago. [Here are 19 other ideas.](http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?foodido%5B%5D=13951&foodido%5B%5D=13952) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-cook-with-white-zinfandel/379009/3 "2006-11-03T21:54:17Z")
Try adding a splash of it (no more than a splash) when making whipped cream. Might provide an interesting subtle note when using the whipped cream to top a fruit pie. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-cook-with-white-zinfandel/379009/4 "2006-11-04T04:44:15Z")
It would make a good [granita](http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe2930) base. Follow the recipe but maybe fortify it with some pomengranate juice and garnish with some pomengranate seeds for the season-- They’re available right now. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-cook-with-white-zinfandel/379009/5 "2006-11-04T04:47:34Z")
You can poach apples and pears in it. Otherwise, I have to recommend \*b. \* The drain cleaner. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-cook-with-white-zinfandel/379009/6 "2006-11-04T05:01:51Z")
White zin is actually not bad to cook with, especially in poaching something sweet or cooking a compote (add it in to keep the compote liquid whlie boiling down). In fact, I’d argue that this is about the only thing white zin is good for. But then, I’m not a fan of drinking any overly sweet wines, be it a syrupy syrah, a sickly sweet eiswine, or a wine zinfindel. Drain cleaner? Nah, that’s what I use Jack Daniels for. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-cook-with-white-zinfandel/379009/7 "2006-11-04T05:24:50Z")
I see a whole new apple and berry pie recipe for Thanksgiving. Reduce the entire bottle of Zin with some sugar and make a syrup/reduction. Remove from the heat and add Berries (your choice) and apples. Let cool, then bake in a “top and bottom” deep dish pie crust. Maybe add a dash of cinnamon and/or nutmeg to the filling? ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-cook-with-white-zinfandel/379009/8 "2006-11-04T22:12:03Z")
[QUOTE=Stranger On A Train] Drain cleaner? Nah, that’s what I use Jack Daniels for. Stranger [/QUOTE] Argh, alcohol abuse! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-cook-with-white-zinfandel/379009/9 "2006-11-05T22:26:40Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] Argh, alcohol abuse! [/QUOTE] You say potato, I say fetid maggot-infested tuber. To each his own. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![jaderabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@jaderabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaderabbit)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2006, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-you-cook-with-white-zinfandel/379009/10 "2006-11-06T01:46:57Z")
Thanks, Dopers! I knew I’d get more interesting advice from you than I would just searching the recipe sites.