On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 10:46:21 -0500, Rodney Myrvaagnes
> wrote:


>Sounds pleasant enough, but doesn't address what I said. Your 4 tbsp
>of vodka contains about 4 tsp of alcohol, depending on proof, when you
>put it in. You simmer for 2 minutes near the boiling point of water,
>or about 20 deg C above the boiling point of the vodka (water-alcohol
>mix ca 40% by wt.)

Ah hah! I used to be of the "all the alcohol boils off/cooks out"
persuasion, 'til the figures were presented (and once again in a
recent thread here). Consider: Water boils at 212F (at sea level).
Does this mean when you bring a pot of water to the boil, all of it
instantantly evaporates? Of course not. That'd make steaming green
beans *extremely* treacherous. Warm water, then !poof! bare pot over
high flame! Alcohol indeeds boils/evaporates at a lower temperature
than water, but that *doesn't* mean it all disappears at around 78C.

I very much doubt that 4Tblsp of 60-proof (30%) alcohol in a pot of
pasta sauce simmered for 20 minutes would intoxicate even a small
child, but there is *some* alcohol remaining. Now whether it was ever
enough to be a superior solvent for releasing certain flavors is,
IMHO, rather questionable.