Cooking with wine.

General Cooking tips

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snooky
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My wife,who is a fine cook,struggles somewhat when attempting a recipe useing "wine." Which wine?One in a cheap,medium or expensive range?Or one that you like to quaff on occasion?I'm not a wine buff,prefer a proper beer,advice needed please.
pongeroon
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We usually use one that is nice to drink while cooking with the rest of it.
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Johnboy
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Hi Snooky,
I listened to a programme the other day and a wine expert gave this explanation.
If you buy a bottle of wine at £3. you actually only get about 15p of wine which is not of good quality. This is because the costs of making, bottling, transporting and Tax are the same as a bottle costing £6.99. but the quality of the wine increases by several hundred percent. He also advised us common erks not to pay more than £7.99. for a bottle because he reckoned that it would only be an expert who would be able to note the subtle differences.
I hope this makes sense to you 'cos at this time in the morning I'm getting a bit tired.
JB.
Granny
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I buy cheap wine to use especially for cooking. I've heard celebrity chefs say you shouldn't cook with wine you wouldn't be prepared to drink but I can't tell the difference and something like Coq au Vin needs nearly a whole bottle! We keep unused wine in the bottle with a Vac-u-vin stopper and it will keep for weeks. I put wine in nearly all casseroles, add it to gravy, sauces, poached fish etc. so I've always got a bottle red and white on the go. So the cheapest red or dry white from the supermarket, I reckon.
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Granny
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Colin_M
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Dry white wine also works well for lots of dishes - something like a Suavignon Blanc or even better, a Muscadet de Sevre adds a little something to things like Paella etc.

Also it was only when I saw someone cooking chicken with white wine that I realised Coq au Vin doesn't just have to be made with Red.

Finally, with so many recipes needing almost a bottle, I wonder if it's best to just write the whole thing off (thereby leaving something to keep the chef's creative juices going during the cooking :lol: ).
Last edited by Colin_M on Sat Sep 13, 2008 8:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Gilly C
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I use cheap mini bottles 4 for £5 for cooking and the good stuff to drink instead of white wine though I use dry cider as it is cheaper and gives a good result and nice to drink too :wink:
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Tigger
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I go with the principle that if you wouldn't drink it then don't cook with it.

We rarely finish a bottle of wine between us so there's always a good glass left for cooking with.

I prefer beer or cider for gravy.
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Johnboy
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Hi Tigger,
I guess it must have been 'James' that gave the advice! :wink:
JB.
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The Grock in the Frock
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ooops did not know you where ment to put it in the food. :twisted: silly me :wink:
Love you lots like Jelly Tots
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