How to Be a Gourmet and a Mormon Too

Tired of finding a new recipe for the holidays, only to discard it when you discover that it calls for the use of wine? Gourmet cookery is the delicate blending of foods that makes use of the savors of one’s choice and need not include the use of liquors or wines. In recipes that do call for them, substitutions can be easily made.

Substitutions for Wine and Liquor in Cooking

In Soups and Entrees
Dry (unsweet) red wine:
Water
Beef broth, bouillon or consommé
Tomato juice (plain or diluted)
Diluted cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
Liquid drained from canned mushrooms
Dry (unsweet) white wine:
Water
Chicken broth, bouillon or consommé
Ginger ale
White grape juice
Diluted cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
Liquid drained from canned mushrooms

In Cheese Dishes (fondue or rarebit)
Beer or ale:
Chicken broth
White grape juice
Ginger ale

In Desserts
Brandy:
Apple cider, peach or apricot syrup
Rum:
Pineapple juice or syrup flavored with almond extract
Sherry:
Orange or pineapple juice
Kirsch:
Syrup or juice from black cherries, raspberries, boysenberries, currants, or grapes or cherry cider
Cognac:
Juice from peaches, apricots or pears
Cointreau:
Orange juice or frozen orange juice concentrate
Creme de menthe:
Spearmint extract or oil of spearmint diluted with a little water or grapefruit juice
Red burgundy:
Grape juice
White burgundy:
White grape juice
Champagne:
Ginger ale
Claret:
Grape or currant juice or syrup or cherry cider

Note: To cut the sweetness of the syrups, dilute with water. Also, there are many flavor extracts, such as almond or pineapple, that can be added for interesting flavors.

Flambés or Flaming Desserts

The only substitute that might be used is a sugar cube soaked in lemon extract, then set atop a dessert and burned.

Winnifred C. Jardine, Salt Lake City, Utah