To cook a dish with alcohol free wine for children?

[sliceoffun]

I want to make chicken casserole and one of the ingredients is white wine.
Would you put alcohol free wine in for children?
Older children are 8 and 10 but also youngest one is a toddler.
Or any other alternative suggestions if you probably wouldn’t put it in.
We’re talking 100ml.

Wine gets cooked off. Use normal wine, I always do.

I use normal wine for a casserole and all my 3 small children eat it

The alcohol burns off. However I just use extra stock with a splash of white wine vinegar cause I am not opening a bottle of wine for dinner.

I too would use normal wine.

However, if you don't want to use it, I'd put a bit more stock, some sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice.

I use normal wine. Even if it doesn’t all burn off, it’s probably what, a glass, probably less - 100ml? Some will burn off (I’ve googled and 75% will burn off in an hour of simmering, so what’s left is the alcoholic equivalent of a quarter of a glass), and then in my house they’re having probably a sixth of it (a third for me, a third for DH, the rest split between DDs) so 1/6th of 25% of a glass. 4% of a glass of wine, alcoholic equivalent of 4ml of wine for every 100ml I put in.

Are there millions of Japanese toddlers staggering around drunk every day because food is seasoned with sake and mirin? Or Chinese ones from Shaoxing rice wine?

It'll be fine.

The text you are basing this on is AI so very likely to be wrong

ethanol boils at 80degrees. It will boil off first. No chance there will be any left. Plus 100ml, which is half a glass, in a big casserole, and a toddler eating a small serve? no chance.

Use normal wine. I’ve done it since the kids were teeny tiny and it’s all fine.

And that's why you shouldn't believe bollocks from the internet. Ethanol boils at 78C, by the time what you are cooking a started to simmer the alcohol is long gone.

The alcohol will cook off anyway. I often replace wine with the same amount of extra stock though. Changes the flavour, but I don’t often buy wine purely for cooking purposes. The alcohol-free ones are too sweet for a casserole I would think.

If your child is only 14 months most of it will
end upon the floor not in his belly so I wouldn’t worry. Portions are tiny at that age anyway.

Wow. You are truly overthinking this.

How much wine? A glass? Half a bottle? I mean how many people will be sharing this meal? Some of it will be cooked out, but I don’t think any residual alcohol is going to make a blind bit of difference, unless someone is allergic to it.

There are a few decent studies on this which are better to read than the AI overview. Or articles about those studies.

You’re right that it doesn’t cook off straight away. But things you can do to speed it up - reduce the alcohol down at the start, rather than adding it all into the big pot of stock. If you add it in early before more liquids go in, and rapidly boil to reduce it while stirring, that will help a lot. Also, the larger the pan and the more you stir around the better. Apparently lids on casseroles help too - better distillation and when you take the lid off the alcohol is released.

FWIW I would readily use 100ml in a large chicken casserole for children. I’d add it early to deglaze and reduce it right down.

https://www.alcoholprofessor.com/blog-posts/what-happens-to-alcohol-when-you-cook-with-it

https://www.isu.edu/news/2019-fall/no-worries-the-alcohol-burns-off-during-cookingbut-does-it-really.html

https://www.sbs.com.au/food/the-cook-up-with-adam-liaw/article/what-you-need-to-know-about-cooking-with-alcohol/ktef2d2s3

I was eating sherry trifle on a regular basis as a small child and I can assure you it isn’t going to do a kid any harm. The amount of sherry per portion is minimal. Most recipes have 60-100ml in an entire trifle. Less than a tablespoonful per person, at most.

I sometimes just use chicken stock and not the wine.however I think it cooks off .my cousin has a nice casserole with orange and lemon and herbs .might be nice for the older ones

Just use it, they'll sleep better

Gosh my baby even eats all sorts of dishes with a glass of wine thrown in 🙃

This would never have occurred to me. Mine was eating a mince pie with cognac (in it, not with it) the other day.

Alcohol evaporates at 78 C. I suspect the 3 hours comes from if you cook in a covered dish. It will maybe evaporate and the circulate in the closed dish, eventually escaping from around the edge of the lid.

I think if you are worried, just remove the lid for a while and give it a good stir while the liquid water content is still bubbling. The alcohol will escape into the atmosphere,

I’ve always just used normal wine. Dishes that call for wine are typically things with a longer cook so the alcohol will have cooked off. In the case of a casserole the wine will probably added early on and then it cooks for a while to reduce and cook through the meat and veg.

My 18 month old gets spag bol with wine. No negative impact

How quick it cooks off depends on the temperature you’re cooking it. So if you’re really worried pop it in a frying pan and give it a vigorous boil for a few mins before chucking it in

Just use normal wine, it'll be fine. My baby eats what we eat, wine included. He only eats a spoonful so he's not getting more than a drop