An ethical question re the use of alcohol in cooking

[Whoever]

If you use wine in cooking, to improve the flavour of a sauce for example, and it evaporates during the cooking process, would you regard it as ethical to serve this food to somebody whose religion forbade alcohol?

Brandy butter or sherry trifle would obviously be a No-No, but if alcohol no longer exists in a cooked product, does it still count?

[andy-hughes]

I'd be inclined to ask the individual involved if its OK - and go from there.

[woofgang]

I think that the answer is to ask the person concerned. I certainly wouldn't serve anything cooked with alcohol to someone whose religion forbade it, or to a recovering alcoholic, regardless of whether or not the actual alcohol content had cooked off.

[Valanne]

I would say no, not ethical. The simplest thing would be to ask the person concerned.

[bushbaby_de]

But if the alcohol has been evaporated off, it doesn't actually include any alcohol, just the flavours of whichever drink was previously hosting the alcohol.....

[lorri24601]

why not just use alcohol free wine to flavour the food ;-) problem solved lol

[woofgang]

yes but this is about beliefs, not facts. Some people will think that according to their particular set of religious beliefs this is okay, some will not.

[Andyvon]

It's not just for religious reasons that people avoid alcohol. In the same way as many people don't like the smell or taste of garlic or tobacco, there are some who just don't like the smell or taste of alcohol. I'm 48 and I haven't touched alcohol since I was 15 when I made myself very ill indeed. I still feel sick if I smell alcohol today!

I always avoid anything with alcohol in as I just don't like it. I certainly don't want anyone to serve it to me in a meal on the presumption that I won't mind. We usually have the courtesy to ask someone we cook for whether they like garlic or not (I love it!) and the same courtesy should extend to the taste of alcohol.

[flobadob]

Obviously it would be wise to ask the person so as not to cause yourself any unpleasantness but as the alcohol will have been lost in the cooking process you should be okay. As far as I am aware most of the religious rules to do with alcohol are that you should not "imbibe" it.

[Andyvon]

My Muslim neighbours say Islam prohibits any kind of stimulant which alcohol is regarded as. Obviously they're impressed with me! I don't like alcohol purely on the basis of taste, whether the alcohol has actually evaporated or not.

[boxtops]

No you wouldn't, there has still been alcohol in the recipe. This would not be acceptable to my Muslim friends.