In the Sober Kitchen
by Chef Liz Scott

I often hear from readers in recovery who express their joy in learning that both cooking and entertaining is a real possibility again in their lives. After avoiding parties and socializing to maintain sobriety, they are often surprised to find that hosting their own sober dinners and celebrations can be an enjoyable part of embracing their recovery. A good deal of our ultimate success in staying clean and sober is the ability to adjust ourselves to this new way of living without feeling deprived or ashamed. And hosting a sober get-together, or creating a delicious meal for family and friends, will provide a wonderful boost in your confidence and self-esteem. It’s also the perfect way to share your newly found lifestyle with those you love. So where do we begin?

As we talked about last month, keeping a sober kitchen, by eliminating all alcohol-containing ingredients from your pantry and fridge sets the stage. This is because we now know quite definitively that alcohol does not “burn off” when cooked (anywhere from 5% to 85% can remain*) and that even small amounts could prove problematic in relation to craving. This month we’ll get specific as I show you the easy substitutions you can make for recipes that call for wine. That’s right – you don’t need to toss out your old favorite newspaper clippings or abandon your coveted cookbooks in order to be an alcohol-free cook. Here’s how it works:

Suppose the recipe we are making for dinner calls for ¼ cup of dry white wine. To simply leave it out could result in a very different outcome. Cooking is a science after all and more often than not, every ingredient has a role to play by contributing something to the flavor, texture, and overall balance evident in the final tasting. Would a diabetic cook leave out sugar from a brownie recipe without replacing it with something? Of course not. Finding the right substitute is the key. And thankfully many alcohol-free ingredients, on their own or in combination, work extremely well in mimicking the role a wine might perform in a recipe.

Here is a partial list of substitutions from my book Sober Celebrations: Lively Entertaining Without the Spirits. Use it as a jumping off point for your own enhancements and preferences. I guarantee the results will be amazing and before you know it, second nature will kick in and you’ll be reaching for your substitution without batting an eyelid.

Type of Wine	Substitute	Tips and Uses
White Wine (light and dry)	3 parts white grape juice 1 part white wine vinegar	poultry and general
White Wine (dry and tart)	3 parts white grape juice 1 part lemon juice	shellfish and seafood
White Wine (slightly sweet)	3 parts apple juice 1 part apple cider vinegar	pork and veal
White Wine (Sweet)	3 parts white cranberry juice 1 part white balsamic vinegar	desserts
Red Wine (light and dry)	3 parts red grape juice 1 part red wine vinegar	general
Red Wine (full-bodied)	3 parts red grape juice 1 part balsamic vinegar	beef and game
Red Wine, Port (dark and sweet)	3 parts red grape juice 1 part black currant juice	desserts
Champagne (bubbly and tart	3 parts sparkling grape juice 1 part lemon juice	light sauces

Some of you may be wondering about cooking wines or the so-called “alcohol-free” wines we see in the supermarket. Aren’t they safe to use? Surprisingly, cooking wines often contain even more alcohol than regular wine (up to 17%) as well as a host of other unwanted ingredients like sodium and preservatives. All cooks, sober or not, should steer clear of them. As for wines that claim the alcohol has been removed, there is still an allowable .5% alcohol content and, especially for those in early sobriety, the visual cues of looking at and opening a wine bottle could be a potential trigger. Moreover, these wines are really no more than glorified grape juices with a fancy price tag. You’re much better off, cooking-wise as well as penny-wise, using the substitutions on the chart that offer a better balance of sweetness and acidity, the two most important contributions that wine makes in cooking.

Finally, a word about the use of vinegars in a sober kitchen. Many readers ask if it is safe to use them since they are derived from alcoholic beverages like wine, champagne, and cider. The answer is a definite yes - they are perfectly fine to use. Vinegar making involves a nonalcoholic fermentation process that results in acetic acid. All alcohol is removed and as far as its taste being a trigger, no vinegar I have ever tried resembles a fine wine or champagne! Experiment with some of the more unusual flavored vinegars on the market these days. They can truly inspire your cooking and add a whole new dimension to your dish. Until next time…happy cooking and bon appetit!

*See “Alcohol retention in food preparation,” Journal of the American Dietetic Assoc., 1992.

About the Author: Scott’s first book, The Sober Kitchen, received the National Health Information Award for Patient Education Information and the Independent Publisher Book Award in Health, Medicine, and Nutrition. She is the recipient of the Research Society on Alcoholism’s 2004 annual Journalism Award and has been recognized by the Johnson Institute in Washington, D.C. as one of eight American pioneers and innovators in the field of addiction recovery. For more info: www.sober-celebrations.com

Chef Liz is currently working on two books, including one on “mocktails.” Alcohol-free libations. She is a coveted speaker for The Alliance for Recovery and has an ongoing guest segment “In the Sober Kitchen” on RECOVERY Coast to Coast radio which airs Monday-Friday 10pm - midnight Pacific Time on ClearChannel Radio AM 850 KHHO - Seattle, WA and streamed live during show hours. To hear Chef Liz on the radio go to: www.recoverycoasttocoast.org