Red Wine in Cooking

Ballyman

Hi

I have been using a bottle of red wine that I didn't like in cooking for the last 2 weeks. I think it's probably undrinkable now but can I continue to use it in cooking and if so, how long can you use a bottle of red before it's unsafe to horrible to use in cooking.

Cheers.

rediguana

I think the general rule is that you should only cook with a wine that you'd actually drink.

Once you open a bottle, it should be consumed or binned within 2-3 days, maybe you can get a little longer by investing in a VacuVin.

I doubt it will do you any harm, but get I advise you to get rid of it. It will add nothing to your culinary creations.

A gorgeous and inexpensive red (about a tenner) I picked up recently is Marks and Spencer's 'Barbera d'Asti'. Lovely finish

The Hill Billy

Open 2 weeks now? - Bin it.

If you have leftover wine that you wish to keep for cooking - you can always freeze it in ice cube bags/trays.

Alun

Hill Billy wrote:

Open 2 weeks now? - Bin it.

Or get yourself a vinegar culture and start making your own red wine vinegar

The Hill Billy

Touché!

You don't need specific vinegar culture though. Just add red wine vinegar (which will have the culture present anyway) to the wine & leave it to ferment. I'm not sure how long this takes though - probably a couple of months.

Alun

Hill Billy wrote:

Touché!

You don't need specific vinegar culture though. Just add red wine vinegar (which will have the culture present anyway) to the wine & leave it to ferment. I'm not sure how long this takes though - probably a couple of months.

True but if you know someone who already has one running, it's quicker to just pinch a bit of their 'mother' or 'mere de vinaigre' as it's called. It looks a bit gross though .. a sort of slimy gunk that floats on the surface.

I stayed with a French family a while ago that just had one running constantly in the kitchen. All wine dregs just got tipped into it, and the vinegar tapped off from a tap in the bottom when it was needed.