Alcohol, Cooking and the Words of Wisdom.

Now this is a subject upon which many a Mormon has debated on over the years, causing confusions, heated conversations and headaches. As many recipes contain alcohol and this site is about cooking in general, it only makes sense to approach the topic of cooking with alcohol and how it affects Mormons. I hope that after you have read this article you will all have a clearer understanding on alcohol in food.

Origins of the confusion

On February 27th, 1833 in Kirtland, Ohio the Prophet Joseph Smith Jr. gave a revelation from The Lord to a meeting if the School of Prophets. The revelation came about as a response to Joseph Smith's enquiry into tobacco, that was being used by many of the men attending the school and many occasions did the Prophet come into the meeting confronted by a wall of smoke.

It was first published in a stand alone pamphlet in December of 1833 and was added to the 1835 publication of Doctrine and Convents, as section 80. On September 9th 1851, 18 years after it was first given, during a talk given by the Patriarch of the Church, John Smith, on the subject of the Word of Wisdom the President of the Church, Brigham Young, arose and proposed that all Saints make a covenant and abstain from tea, coffee, tobacco, whiskey and "all things mentioned in the Word of Wisdom". The motion was seconded and carried and from that moment it went from a 'recommendation' to a binding commandment.

Most of the confusion about the Word of Wisdom comes from the lack of specifics in many areas. Things like Cola drinks, Decaf tea and coffee, energy drinks and of course alcohol in cooking. Some Mormons refuse to have anything to do 'with the appearance of evil'. In 2011 LDS Living magazine held a poll about what their readers felt in regards to alcohol in cooking, 75% were ok or neutral with alcohol used in cooking.

President David O'Macky is quoted as saying, in response to someone saying that eating Rum cake was against the Word of Wisdom, "The Word of Wisdom forbade drinking alcohol, not eating it".  When I was going through the interviews for my first baptism in 2008, I asked is it ok for alcohol in food, both the Bishop and Mission President (I had two separate interviews for my first baptism) stated that it is up to the individual how the interpret that, that the Lord will give revelation and inspiration to those who genuinely seek it.

Another part to add to the confusion is that many people (including Chefs) will tell those asking that the Alcohol is cooked out during the cooking process. However a study in 1992 by the Universities of Idaho and Washington State as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture came to some very interesting conclusions.

Alcohol doesn't fully cook out

So the myth goes that Alcohol is cooked out during the process. It is very logical to understand why people think this, Alcohol has a boiling point of 78.5 oC while water has a boiling point of 100 oC. However the aforementioned study in 1992 showed that it wasn't entirely the case. They found that the highest evaporation of alcohol occurred when it was baked/simmered over a prolonged period of time in a large pot/pan (this gives more surface for evaporation).

Here is a chart based upon the findings by the study:-

Now some you clever clogs might be thinking 'Well if I cook for 3 hours or more then all the alcohol will be burnt off'. From a practical standpoint you are right but from a scientific standpoint you are wrong. So long as there is liquid in the dish, the alcohol will remain. This is because it will form an azeotrope (mixture of two or more compounds where the ratio cannot be changed through distillation), so as you boil the azeotrope the ratio of alcohol will stay the same. So unless you completely boil out the liquid, it will always retain some alcohol.

The Art of Cooking with Alcohol

For those who have never cooked with alcohol, or are wondering why your dish doesn't taste right. Here is some tips on how to cook with alcohol.

Pan Sauces:
When you are making a pan based sauce, add your alcohol the the hot pan after you have sautéed the herbs and spices but before you add any other liquid ingredient. Use a spatula to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, this helps add more flavour into the sauce. This is called deglazing. After about 30 seconds add any other liquids to the sauce as required.

Gravy:
First make your roux, this is the mixing of flour with fat (normally butter). Add the alcohol and stir it to fully combine it before adding any other liquid.

Braises and Soups:
Whenever you make simmered sauces, braises and soups always add the alcohol after you have browned your meats and sautéed the aromatics (these are the herbs, spices and vegetables that you use to flavour you dishes). This helps deglaze the pan and get the best flavour from the alcohol used. Wait for 30 seconds before adding any other liquids.

Flambé: 
Always use caution when flambéing. Many a Chef (and amateur cook) has singed facial hair or worse because of this process. Always take care, you can reduce the risks by doing the following:

• Tie hair back and secure loose clothing.
• Have a lid nearby to put on top of the pan to extinguish flames.
• Tilt pan away from you when lighting.
• Remove from heat source before lighting.

So to get a good flambé all you need to do is, first, remove pan from the heat source. Add the alcohol to the pan and warm for about 10 seconds, DO NOT STIR. Tilt pan away from you and light with a long match. Allow the flames to die out and then serve. 

Alcohol can add many different depths and flavours to your dishes. Using it correctly will give your dishes a professional finish and taste.

But I don't want to use alcohol

After all that is said and done there will be some among you that say 'Well I still don't want to use it, how can I get around it?'. Luckily there is many substitutes for alcohol out there.  

• Non-Alcoholic Wines and Beers can replace their alcoholic counterparts.
• Flavoured Spirits (Calvados, Cointreau etc) can be replaced with the corresponding fruit juices
• Orange Juice in place of Cointreau, Rasberry Juice for Chambord etc.
• Use 100% Fresh Apple Juice to replace Ciders.
• Amaretto can be replaces with a 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract.
• In Asian dishes that call for Sake, a simple splash of Rice Vinegar can be used.
• Flavoured Vinegars can substitute for Wines in savoury dishes.
• For more robust sauces a simple sub of tomato sauce, soy sauce/Worcester sauce mixed with some fruit juice can be used.
• Sometimes just water or chicken stock can effectively replace the alcohol for a dish.
• Lemon or lime juices can replace the acidity lost by the extraction of certain alcohols.

A word of warning, these substitutions are very effective in masking the lack of alcohol in your selected dish, but if the recipe's main ingredient is alcohol based then the substitution will not make up for the flavour change. So dishes that call for alcohol to be the main ingredient and you don't want to use alcohol, then you shouldn't attempt to do it, the difference is too great.

Tips and Conclusion

• Don't use 'Cooking' alcohols, these contain added salt and can over season your dishes.
• Buy mini bottles, these will be used up and thus get rid of temptations. 
• If making a cream based alcohol sauce, always add the cream after some of the alcohol has burnt off. This will stop the cream from curdling.
• Never pour from the bottle, always measure and pour. This will ensure the correct flavour and reduce risk of having the whole of the bottle set alight.

So Alcohol can and does help with the flavour of many dishes but there is also many ways it which to substitute it and replicate a fairly close flavour. Also the Word of Wisdom leaves a lot of room for personal interpretation in which we are meant to rely the Holy Ghost for guidance. As Elder Cook said in March 2003's issue of the Ensign "...When one advocates additions to the Word of Wisdom that are not authorised by the Brethren and proselytes others to adopt these interpretations. If we turn a health law or any other principle  into a form of religious fanaticism, we are looking beyond the mark".

I hope this article helps many LDS and non-LDS on the subject of Alcohol in Cooking and what the Churches stance is upon the matter.