"Rodney Myrvaagnes" > wrote in message
...
<snip>
> I don't believe, without further evidence, that a large fraction of
> the alcohol remains after cooking. If that were true, stills wouldn't
> work in a reasonable period of time.
..
> Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a

A flat-earther eh Rodney? <grin> The alcohol certainly remains in my
favorite recipe as it goes in at the end of cooking. So here is a
no-question-about-it alcoholic pasta!

Charlie

PENNE A LA VODKA

Source: San Diego Union, date unknown

3/4 lb. penne
1 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 lb. tomatoes, peeled and chopped
4 tbs. heavy cream
coarse salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
4 tbs. vodka, steeped overnight or longer with 1 tbs. hot red pepper flakes
freshly grated Parmesan to taste


Cook penne to al dente and drain. Meanwhile make the sauce. Heat olive oil
and butter in a skillet. Soften the onions without browning and add the
tomatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the cream and cook for 1 minute.
Season with salt and pepper. Add the vodka and simmer for 2 minutes. Toss
the penne with the sauce in a heated bowl and serve with the cheese.

On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 11:42:57 GMT, "Charles Gifford"
> wrote:

>
>"Rodney Myrvaagnes" > wrote in message
.. .
><snip>
>> I don't believe, without further evidence, that a large fraction of
>> the alcohol remains after cooking. If that were true, stills wouldn't
>> work in a reasonable period of time.
>.
>> Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a
>
>A flat-earther eh Rodney? <grin> The alcohol certainly remains in my
>favorite recipe as it goes in at the end of cooking. So here is a
>no-question-about-it alcoholic pasta!
>
>Charlie
>
>PENNE A LA VODKA
>
>Source: San Diego Union, date unknown
>
>3/4 lb. penne
>1 tbs. olive oil
>2 tbs. butter
>1 onion, finely chopped
>1/2 lb. tomatoes, peeled and chopped
>4 tbs. heavy cream
>coarse salt to taste
>freshly ground pepper to taste
>4 tbs. vodka, steeped overnight or longer with 1 tbs. hot red pepper flakes
>freshly grated Parmesan to taste
>
>
>Cook penne to al dente and drain. Meanwhile make the sauce. Heat olive oil
>and butter in a skillet. Soften the onions without browning and add the
>tomatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the cream and cook for 1 minute.
>Season with salt and pepper. Add the vodka and simmer for 2 minutes. Toss
>the penne with the sauce in a heated bowl and serve with the cheese.
>
>
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.)

One could devise an experiment to measure the alcohol loss in 2
minutes, but unless there is some reputable published measurement, I
don't consider that amount worth bothering about.

The rest of the sauce amounts to about a pint, so before simmering you
have about 5% by vol--like beer.

In no way comparable to a creme-de-menthe parfait.





Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a

"That idiot Leibniz, who wants to teach me about the infinitesimally small! Has he therefore forgotten that I am the wife of Frederick I? How can he imagine that I am unacquainted with my own husband?"

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.

Rodney Myrvaagnes > wrote in message >. ..
> On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 11:42:57 GMT, "Charles Gifford"
> > wrote:
>
> >
> >"Rodney Myrvaagnes" > wrote in message
> .. .
> ><snip>
> >> I don't believe, without further evidence, that a large fraction of
> >> the alcohol remains after cooking. If that were true, stills wouldn't
> >> work in a reasonable period of time.
> .

Shankar posted a reference to a refereed, published article over ten years ago.
Here's a pointer to his reference:

<http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&rnum=16&selm=43778%40rnd.GBA.NYU.EDU>

> >> Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a

-bwg

On 10 Feb 2004 12:12:35 -0800, (Barry Grau)
wrote:

>Rodney Myrvaagnes > wrote in message >. ..
>> On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 11:42:57 GMT, "Charles Gifford"
>> > wrote:
>>
>> >
>> >"Rodney Myrvaagnes" > wrote in message
>> .. .
>> ><snip>
>> >> I don't believe, without further evidence, that a large fraction of
>> >> the alcohol remains after cooking. If that were true, stills wouldn't
>> >> work in a reasonable period of time.
>> .
>
>Shankar posted a reference to a refereed, published article over ten years ago.
>Here's a pointer to his reference:
>
><http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&rnum=16&selm=43778%40rnd.GBA.NYU.EDU>
>
I looked at that link. I found no reference after reading through it
twice. Shankar's argument in that site is entirely verbal and
qualitative, and he never names the journal that the putative refereed
article could be found in. Nor does he summarize any quantitative
results.

His verbal arguments are reasonable, in that they suggest an
asymptotic approach to zero alcohol. I doubt ayone disputes that. The
operative question might be something like "When does a sauce have the
alcohol content of orange juice?"

*******************************

Pastorio provided links that actually answer questions:


This one:


http://www.cinnamonhearts.com/CookWithAlc.htm

gives a USDA table of retained percentage vs time for various cooking
methods.





Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a

"That idiot Leibniz, who wants to teach me about the infinitesimally small! Has he therefore forgotten that I am the wife of Frederick I? How can he imagine that I am unacquainted with my own husband?"