Trick or Treat?
Alcohol Ingredients in Disguise

by Chef Liz Scott

With Halloween just around the corner and thoughts of costumes and disguises in the air, it reminded me of how many of the products we buy to eat or cook with in a sober kitchen can be real tricksters. If we are trying to avoid items that contain alcohol, we can be easily fooled by names and ingredient lists.

Some products we run across in the supermarket announce their alcohol ingredients loud and clear. There’s no mistaking that vodka sauce, cabernet sauce, or even Jack Daniels’ BBQ sauce are made with alcohol. But what about those that are less obvious and perhaps even unexpected? We know that baking extracts can contain a good amount of alcohol by volume - up to 35 per cent. What if a product contains those same extracts we’re looking to avoid?

Flavored syrups used in coffees and desserts are handy substitutes for providing flavor in recipes that call for fruit-based and exotic flavored liqueurs. For the most part, these syrups are alcohol-free, but occasionally you’ll find alcohol-laden extracts listed as an ingredient. Here it pays to carefully read the label before our taste buds reveal we’ve been tricked. The use of extracts may also be found in fancy chocolates, creamers, ice cream, and even cigars, which have been known to be “laced” with alcohol flavors. In addition, many condiments and bottled sauces unexpectedly contain alcohol as an ingredient. You may know that Dijon mustard always has white wine added, but did you know that teriyaki sauce may have it as well?

Since scientific studies have shown that the taste or smell of alcohol can be a trigger to craving for those in recovery, it’s always best to avoid these products, in spite of the relatively “small” amount of alcohol they may contain. If we are too casual in attitude towards foods that may have alcohol in them, it can make it difficult to know where to draw the line. Without vigilance, we may unknowingly go from the frying pan into the fire, as an innocent “taste” of a rum truffle leads to a large sip of brandy in a pan sauce for steak prepared by a heavy-handed chef. It’s always best not to tease the tiger.

On the other hand, we can certainly become overzealous in our detective work, since not all fermented products go through alcohol-specific fermentation. Foods like miso, yogurt, and even pickles are fermented, but the by-product given off is not ethyl alcohol. It can be lactic acid in the case of dairy products or acetic acid in the case of vinegars. None of these particular products contains alcohol and they are quite safe to use. However, since alcohol itself is an excellent preservative, lesser-quality products that are fermented by other means may sometimes introduce alcohol to speed up fermentation or increase the shelf life. Reading the label will show whether alcohol has been added and in what percent by volume.

Finally, there are the “pretenders”– those products with deceptive names that simply do not have anything to do with alcohol. Chocolate “liquor," the term used for the pure essence of cocoa bean, is often seen listed on cookie, cake, and candy labels – a complete misnomer and the cause of much confusion. Sugar alcohols are another of these – substitutes used for sugar in many low-carb and diabetic products are unfortunately named “alcohols” because part of their chemical structure resembles alcohol, but not one drop is present. And Bourbon vanilla, named for the islands and not the whiskey, can be doubly confusing for those looking to buy vanilla products such as whole beans, powder, or paste, which do not contain alcohol as do their extract counterparts.

So, as the holiday of masks and deception draws near, make a vow to take a second look at potential tricksters in your kitchen that might catch us by surprise. To get you started, here’s a handy list of items whose labels you should check before adding them to your shopping cart:

Teriyaki Sauce
Ponzu Sauce
Tamari Soy Sauce
Marinades
Mustards
BBQ Sauce
Steak Sauce
Mexican Salsa
Tomato-based Spaghetti Sauce
White Clam Sauce
Alfredo Sauce
Tetrazzini Sauce
Scampi
Baking Extracts
Syrups
Grenadine
Coffee Creamers
Ice Creams and Sorbets
Boxed Chocolates
Cherry Cordials
Stuffed Olives
French Onion Soup
Seafood Bisque
Patés
Cured Meats
Frozen Dinners

About the Author

Liz Scott is a professional chef, author, speaker and recovering alcoholic. She has written two books, The Sober Kitchen: Recipes and Advice for a Lifetime of Sobriety and Sober Celebrations: Lively Entertaining without the Spirits.  Both focus on the importance and often overlooked link between food and recovery and are available on Amazon.com. Liz has received numerous awards for her writing and work in the field of recovery. In 2005, she was honored by the Johnson Institute in Washington, D.C., as one of eight American pioneers and innovators in the field of addiction recovery.  To learn more about Chef Liz Scott visit www.sober-celebrations.com.