Urgent. Cooking for recovering alcoholic. Substitute for white wine please!

[Reallyimeanreally2022]

Fright in middle of cooking a Ragu with pork and veal (it’s a blonde Ragu ie no tomato’s and uses milk)

Recipe call for 500 ml of white wine

What’s a brilliant substitute for this kind of meaty pasta sauce

Thanks so much

Ok so will do chicken stock and dash of balsamic vinegar?

I’d choose a different recipe - some can take a substitution but this one really needs wine with the milk for balance.

Chicken stock and lemon juice.

Alcohol free wine doesn’t work; I tried it with a few recipes in pregnancy, it tastes odd when cooked. Even the ones that aren’t bad to drink!

Why would you choose a recipe that includes alcohol?? You could choose from thousands, if not millions, of dishes that don't call for it.

@BlameItOnTheBlackStar

Why would you choose a recipe that includes alcohol?? You could choose from thousands, if not millions, of dishes that don't call for it.

My thoughts exactly. Especially not one that calls for so much wine.

Concerned that some posters may serve a recovering alcoholic and think “oh well it’ll burn off”

Please read this from alcohol advocacy

** Taste Triggers: If you think of addiction as a disease, the answer to your question becomes immediately clear. If your friend were deathly allergic to lemons, you wouldn’t cook with them because even trace amounts could trigger a negative response. For alcoholics, recovered or in recovery, the taste of alcohol can act as a trigger. It can trip cravings, and that can set them up for disaster. Using alcohol to infuse flavor probably isn’t a good idea.
Alcohol Doesn’t Burn Off: It’s a myth. Alcohol doesn’t burn off completely during the cooking process. com has a chart displaying how much alcohol is retained after cooking, and it might surprise you. A dish needs to bake or simmer for up to 2 hours to reduce the alcohol retained to 10 percent. The average dish calls for alcohol to be added to boiling liquid, which can retain up to 85 percent of the alcohol. For someone fighting alcohol addiction, adding it to a dish can be dangerous.
The biggest challenge for a recovering alcoholic is craving. If they were never a wine drinker, the taste of wine in a dish shouldn’t trigger a want to drink. However, if they were a bourbon drinker, cooking with bourbon or similar tasting alcohol could trigger a craving.

You also need to consider your friend or relative’s wishes. Have they sworn off all alcohol? If so, cooking with it could undermine their resolution.

Can an Alcoholic Cook with Alcohol?

What if you are a recovered (or recovering) alcoholic? Can you safely cook with alcohol? First, all of the above applies to you. Taste can trigger a relapse or cause hard to resist cravings. Second, alcohol doesn’t completely burn off. Reintroducing it to your body could prove to be a setback. But there’s another aspect you need to consider; will cooking with a bottle of alcohol tempt you to drink it straight?

You might be able to consume alcohol that’s been cooked with no side effects. But if you’re the one preparing the meal, can you only cook with that alcohol? You have to ask yourself what your limits are and then respect those limits, adapting as needed.

@BlameItOnTheBlackStar

Why would you choose a recipe that includes alcohol?? You could choose from thousands, if not millions, of dishes that don't call for it.

Good question!

Long story but goes back to a conversation we had a few months at a dinner party re this “blonde” dish

Otherwise… bloody wouldn’t do it as I’m not keen on meat!!

I would do 150 ml of apple juice and 150ml of light chicken stock (half a cube). I would taste as I go to then add the further 200ml liquid using more apple juice or stock to taste.

If it doesn't quote have that tang I would add a dash of white wine vinegar.

Just finished reading the bloomin’ recipe and it actually says… increase chicken stock and add some balsamic vinegar!!!

So thank you PP

Right, had down cooking now. A lot to do!

I'd just use extra stock. Either chicken or veg. I quite often leave wine out of recipes because I either I don't have any or don't want to open a bottle for a small amount.

Dh is a recovering alcoholic, 12 years sober and I would never put alcohol in a dish trusting it'd burn off. I use apple cider vinegar mostly.

Alcohol-free white wine.

There's a decent range these days in large supermarkets. It's what we use at home (DH in recovery).

I think chicken or vegetable stock would be fine. I rarely put wine in our dishes anyway as DD doesnt like it .(500ml seems an awful lot as well anyway!) Respect to you Really ,you sound like a great mate ,kind and considerate .Enjoy your meal together .

Substitute with white wine vinegar or cider vinegar (not 'apple cider vinegar' -- the term is otiose, cider vinegar is made from cider, which is made from apples. Rant over) and stock, about 1/4 to 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 to 3/4 stock. .
You could perhaps add some white balsamic vinegar for a touch of sweetness, if you have some. If it tastes too sharp, simmer it some more; cooking it further will drive off some of the sharpness.
Apple juice will be much too sweet.
It won't be the same as when it's made with wine, but that's your choice and it should be ok. Give it a whirl!

Don't use Wine & expect all the alcohol to burn off especially if the person in recovery is taking antabuse tablets, the slightest trace of alcohol will start them throwing up like something in a horror movie.

Well if it was a special request then you're doing something very nice by accommodating it. Hope it's yummy!

Stock would be fine
I never put wine in my ragu

Chicken stock pot and water, you don't have to have wine.

You do seem a little aggressive though op.

It's a myth the alcohol burns off during cooking. Maybe in tiny quantities but not 500ml!

Id just use some stock and balsamic OP. It will be fine

I wouldn’t use apple juice - far too sweet. I would use stock and a splash of white balsamic. I wouldn’t use dark balsamic - it will overpower a blond ragú. If you don’t have white balsamic, I agree with other suggestions of splash of cider vinegar instead.

Will report back, but stock and balsamic are in!

And yes - chicken stock

Alcohol free wine?

I also do a blond ragú with porcini mushrooms in which case I use the mushroom stock instead. But that is very rich.