Cooking with non-alcoholic alcohol
 

As I'm not drinking, and we never had much booze in the house anyway it got me thinking can I use non-alcoholic wine? It's really nothing more than the $ saving because, obviously, non-alcoholic wine/beer has no alcohol tax on it. I'd ask the same question about beer. I often brine things in beer before cooking, and even poach chicken in beer. Is there any difference between the alcohol v non-alcohol version? The only thing I can think is the fermentation process is what gives alcohol that depth it adds to food. I really don't know anything about non-alcoholic alcohol, but it's becoming much more prevalent.

Well, will take longer to reduce to intensify the flavour. Also used as a pan deglaser. Non-alcohol liquid could also do but sometimes requires more elbow grease.

The non-alcoholic version may be overprocessed/denatured as it is either heated to boil off the alcohol or left out for the alcohol to evaporate but at the cost og oxidation.

Seems like reverse osmosis is used for the "better" non-alcoholic wines and beers, although plenty use distillation. But fermentation is fermentation right? Someone drinking it would be a lot more likely to notice a flavour difference than if it's used in cooking? Sort of like it's a lot harder to notice is a bottle of plonk was used in the ragu or $30 bottle of wine. I might give it a try and see how it goes.

There's a mouth feel that de-alcoholised wine and beer lack. Missing something or very lean and austere. Some say it's like comparing (a young) Kate Moss to Dolly Parton.

As for process, I wonder what else reverse osmosis removes.

The more-expensive wines tend to be more thoroughly-fermented thus dryer (less residual sugar so not so sweet). Wine is expensive where I am so have never put the better-wine theory to test.

I generally don't use de-alcoholized wine/beer (read: less than 1%) to cook. But for deglazing, I don't see any real difference in effect when you use stock vs. alcohol. I do find there is a difference in terms of flavour,

Alcohol in general will start the breaking down of celluar walls so the food can better absorb any flavours. The lack of alcohol will just mean it doesn't break things down as fast and just not as well and will likely impart less of whatever flavours are in the alcohol.

If it’s more about saving money, I recommend my own approach: cheap cooking sake.

I’ve never known it to go off, doesn’t need to be refrigerated, just add a tablespoon or two at a time for whatever tenderising, odour reducing, umami enhancing, flavour melding magic you need to happen. And it’s fairly neutral tasting as alcohols go so really versatile across different European and Asian cooking styles.

Pre-pandemic I would pick up a couple of 1.5 litre tetrabrik “bottles” of ordinary grog from a Japanese licor store or supermarket for about 800JPY/8AUD each. That would last me a year. As I can’t do that I’ve managed to get plastic bottles of cooking sake (which has salt added; lowers the tax). Morita brand is made in Japan and I’ve managed to find it at about 6GBP (11AUD) per litre in the U.K.
You should be able to get it cheaper in Australia. Hinode brand is very similar https://genkimart.com.au/product/cooking-sake-1l

I don’t get wine or brandy for cooking anymore and no sake ever goes to waste. Convenient and economical.

Ahh thanks. So the alcohol does something beyond just adding depth. I do love what beer does to a chicken brine. I just thought it was adding a beery flavour.

Won't that add quite a different flavour profile to the dish? If I'm making a ragu or similar adding sake or Chinese cooking wine will have a distinctly different flavour to red or white wine wouldn't it? I have some Chinese cooking wine in the pantry that I use when marinating fish.

Alcohol does impart some taste to whatever you're cooking, however it does also start to break organics down (which means you can impart flavour more easily). I use beer to cook chicken as well. Although I will generally try to reduce the liquid there to concentrate the flavours.

This depends on which alcohol you're using and the strength and a few other things. But if you get the right kind of alcohol that is neutral in flavour, it can certainly soften any proteins in the dish.

We have actually gone through this conversation before. Don't use cooking wine. Both port and sherry are fortified wines and can keep for a long time if you think you will just need a little now and then. Also, there are lots of other liquids you can use--broth, juice, water. Is wine really that pricey? If it is a major part of a dish ( I braise short ribs in a lot of red wine), then just splurge & buy a bottle...there must be some decent ones under $10. If it is just a splash use something else or freeze the leftover. It doesn't freeze very solid and you wouldn't drink it after but if you just need an ice cube size, then freeze some and just throw it in to whatever you are making. I would not add sake to a ragu.

No, wine is cheap as chips here. I can buy 5 litres for AU$20. I was more posing the question because when I went to buy some beer to brine some chicken on the weekend I noticed the price of the non-alcoholic beer was half price. It just got me thinking about whether or not there would be any noticeable difference in flavour.

That’s why I stick to Japanese sake and not Chinese cooking wine (which is easier to find and cheaper).
Sake in food is as non-descript tasting an alcohol as is possible. I do use it in ragus and risottos - admittedly, not a huge amount, am less generous than I would be with wine or dry vermouth in these dishes - and I honestly don’t perceive much of a flavour change, more that all the other flavours and ingredients harmonise together better; for instance, a little alcohol brings out certain flavours in tomatoes that otherwise remain dormant.

I once tried getting a Taiwanese rice wine (Michiu) that I hoped would be more similar to Japanese sake than the golden Shaoxing cooking wine, but the taste was too assertive.

Japanese sake hits the sweet spot for neutrality. Not found anything else like it.