How long does wine last for cooking?

[tntcoder]

Hi,

Simple question How long will an open bottle of wine (screw-top) last for cooking purposes if kept refrigerated?

I know for drinking purposes the oxygen screws it over after a couple of days, but will it still do for 2 hour slow cook bolognese / stews after maybe 1-2 weeks?

Thanks!

 

[semi-pro waster]

If it's just to be used for cooking then it might make more sense to simply buy one of the little bottles of wine specifically for that purpose.

However that doesn't really answer your question so if you're going to use it for cooking and not finish it that night then I'd suspect about a week if a white wine, maybe a little longer if a red wine although you wouldn't normally refrigerate a red wine.

 

[J1234]

I wouldn't cook with any wine that isn't drinkable, so 1-2 days. If you use a vacuum stopper you can extend it to 4-5 days at the very most.

If you want a substitute for white wine, use Vermouth. It will last for months once opened and kept refrigerated.

 

[tntcoder]

ok thanks guys will look at Vermouth / smaller bottles.

 

[Jolteh]

Just buy a normal bottle and freeze the stuff you don't use. Easy.

 

[Jimbeam3678]

I wouldn't cook with any wine that isn't drinkable, so 1-2 days. If you use a vacuum stopper you can extend it to 4-5 days at the very most.

If you want a substitute for white wine, use Vermouth. It will last for months once opened and kept refrigerated.

1-2 days for wine Red's good for minimum of 3 days surely

 

[Doctor McNinja]

I'm with Justin. If the wine isn't good enough to drink I don't cook with it. I do keep some wine ice cubes in the freezer for emergencies but I think the best solution is to buy a box of wine.

 

[Van Hellseek]

I wouldn't cook with any wine that isn't drinkable, so 1-2 days.

The 'cooking wine' you get in many restaurants is horrible if you try drinking it. Where I've worked both the red and white are kept in boxes at room temperature. (for weeks and weeks). And this is at decent-ish restaurants.

 

[Mr Jack]

You can buy, pretty cheaply, vacuum seal "corks" for wine bottles that come with a little pump. Wine stored that way will keep for a week.

 

[Jolteh]

I'm with Justin. If the wine isn't good enough to drink I don't cook with it.

I'd wager that no-one here has actually tested to see if using a decent wine makes any difference over cheap plonk once all the alcohol has been cooked off, and rather they're just quoting TV cooking programmes verbatim.

 

[randomshenans]

Well likewise have you tested it?

I see an OC challenge coming on here... Name a dish that contains wine and I'll cook half with old crap opened wine and the other with a nice bottle!

 

[Mr Jack]

I'd wager that no-one here has actually tested to see if using a decent wine makes any difference over cheap plonk once all the alcohol has been cooked off, and rather they're just quoting TV cooking programmes verbatim.

Firstly, it's very unlikely that all the alcohol will be cooked off. You need to cook a sauce for about three hours to do that.

Secondly, even if you had in fact cooked all the alcohol off does it occur to you that the alcohol is one of the bits of wine that tastes exactly the same in good wine or cheap? If you're adding wine to food, it's to add the flavour of it; it won't magically have its flavour disappear when you cook with it.

 

[Jolteh]

Firstly, it's very unlikely that all the alcohol will be cooked off. You need to cook a sauce for about three hours to do that.

Secondly, even if you had in fact cooked all the alcohol off does it occur to you that the alcohol is one of the bits of wine that tastes exactly the same in good wine or cheap? If you're adding wine to food, it's to add the flavour of it; it won't magically have its flavour disappear when you cook with it.

Firstly, the boiling point of alcohol is about 20° C lower than water, so you're gonna lose most of the alcohol pretty quickly, especially when you're doing something like frying it off with rice for a risotto.

Secondly, does it occur to you that what constitutes a good wine before it's been blasted in a pan for several minutes might not necessarily make for a good wine after?

 

[Jonny69]

I'd wager that no-one here has actually tested to see if using a decent wine makes any difference over cheap plonk once all the alcohol has been cooked off, and rather they're just quoting TV cooking programmes verbatim.

Could be true

I've used both and I can say that it makes very little difference. I will pick a wine to go with the dish - for example I wouldn't use a heavily oaked wine in a beef stew because it makes it taste strange. I certainly won't use premium wine in most food, because it's just a waste. Perhaps in a delicate dessert, but not in most stuff.

Firstly, it's very unlikely that all the alcohol will be cooked off. You need to cook a sauce for about three hours to do that.

Lol, come on. Alcohol boils out of wine very quickly. If you have alcohol in your food you can taste it and it's not pleasant.

 

[Mr Jack]

Firstly, the boiling point of alcohol is about 20° C lower than water, so you're gonna lose most of the alcohol pretty quickly, especially when you're doing something like frying it off with rice for a risotto.

Actual empirical testing disagrees with you. In most dishes around half the alcohol originally present remains.

Secondly, does it occur to you that what constitutes a good wine before it's been blasted in a pan for several minutes might not necessarily make for a good wine after?

Sure. It's possible. But most ingredients don't fundamentally change in flavour. What's more the off notes in wine left open are mostly vinegary; and vinegars certainly retain their flavours through cooking.

 

[Mr Jack]

Lol, come on. Alcohol boils out of wine very quickly. If you have alcohol in your food you can taste it and it's not pleasant.

Hmm, I guess this myth is persisting better than I thought.

One of many links. The original source is the USDA - you want the section labelled 'USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 5 (2003)' and the links under it, but it's not in an easy to digest format there.

 

[Jolteh]

Nice link dude, I often take my information from such reputable ad-bait websites as "Misconception Junction". While I was on the site I also enjoyed the articles entitled "Daddy Long Legs Are Not the Most Poisonous Spider", and, "Listening to Mozart Won't Make You Smarter".

You've fallen foul of bad Googling. Most of those "many links" basically reference each other (more adword baited banner sites) and a single, very vague table produced by the USDA. It gives no mention of actual temperatures, quantities or what the alcohol is mixed with.

 

[div0]

I regularly cook with a bottle of red wine for all sorts of things like bolognese. I can honestly say I've never tasted any difference whether the bottle has been open for an hour, or a week.

I'm not a big red wine drinker, so I'd never claim that the wine is still the same quality after being open for a week, but food-wise the end result always tastes the same to me. I do check that the wine hasn't turned to 'vinegar' before cooking with it, which is easy to do, but personally I've never had any problems cooking with wine that has been open for several days.

 

[J1234]

The 'cooking wine' you get in many restaurants is horrible if you try drinking it. Where I've worked both the red and white are kept in boxes at room temperature. (for weeks and weeks). And this is at decent-ish restaurants.

Any decent restaurant will use proper wine stored under correct conditions for cooking.

 

[Ace Modder]

I have a bottle of red in my cupboard for cooking, 6 weeks so far, and its still fine. I made a lasagna and used it yesterday and it tested the same as the first day i opened it. for the same meal too.