alcohol is still a concern. It is a myth that alcohol is totally removed. see:

Does Alcohol Really Boil Away in Cooking?

How long does it take for alcohol to burn off during cooking? Is this time the same for all forms of alcohol? Boil? Simmer? How about in baking?

Yours may be the question of the year. We thought it was pretty cut and dried. We were wrong. And it has taken a while for us to accept what we’ve found out.

We started looking through a bunch of authoritative cookbooks to see what they said. In The New Making of a Cook (Canada, UK), as authoritative a source as you can find, Madeleine Kamman cautions that a dish with wine must be cooked long enough to remove the harshness of the alcohol. In fact, she wants you to simmer and reduce the wine separately from the sauce, and add it only when it has been gently reduced to its essence. She does not say how long that takes, however.

Two dozen other major cookbooks we looked at did not address the issue at all. Several stated that the alcohol burns off, but no one took a stab at how quickly or slowly that happens. We looked in our favorite food science books. Nothing. Finally, James Peterson, a cookbook writer who studied chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley, mentioned it in his encyclopedic cookbook, Sauces (Canada, UK).

He says you need to cook a sauce for at least 20 to 30 seconds after adding wine to it to allow the alcohol to evaporate. And there is some sense to that, since alcohol evaporates at 172°F (78°C), so any sauce or stew that is simmering or boiling is certainly hot enough to evaporate the alcohol.

We still weren’t satisfied though. We recalled that when we flambéed foods, it often takes at least a minute for the flames to die out, a sign to us that most of the alcohol is gone. So we dug around online, and got in touch with various government agencies and trade groups that represent wine and spirits manufacturers.

What we found out has really surprised us. The conventional wisdom accepted by just about everyone in the food world is that all the alcohol you add to a dish evaporates or dissipates during cooking. It’s wrong. In fact, you have to cook something for a good three hours to eradicate virtually all traces of alcohol. And some cooking methods are less effective at removing alcohol than just letting it stand out uncovered overnight.

A study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Data Laboratory calculated the percentage of alcohol remaining in a dish based on various cooking methods. The results are as follows:

Preparation Method Percent of Alcohol Retained
alcohol added to boiling liquid & removed from heat 85%
alcohol flamed 75%
no heat, stored overnight 70%
baked, 25 minutes, alcohol not stirred into mixture 45%
baked/simmered, alcohol stirred into mixture: (see below baking times)
15 minutes 40%
30 minutes 35%
1 hour 25%
1.5 hours 20%
2 hours 10%
2.5 hours 5%

Now, it may be that the amount of alcohol in a dish is modest to start with, but the fact that some of the alcohol remains could be of significant concern to recovering alcoholics, parents, and others who have ethical or religious reasons for avoiding alcohol.

Madeleine Kamman, James Peterson and some of our other cooking heroes may be on the mark when stating that the harshness of the alcohol burns off quickly. But the alcohol itself is clearly another matter.

Source: http://www.ochef.com/165.htm

And:

Cheers! Cookbook contains alcohol-free recipes for holidays and other occasions
By Valerie Phillips
Deseret Morning News
Published: Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2007 12:00 a.m. MST

Eat, drink and be wary: All the alcohol does NOT evaporate when you're cooking with wine, beer or other spirits. Up to 85 percent of it can remain in that rum cake, fondue or other alcohol-containing recipe, according to a study done more than 15 years ago for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"Even in culinary school, I was told that all the alcohol burns off during cooking, but that is a myth," said Liz Scott, a New Jersey chef and author of "Sober Celebrations" (Cleveland Clinic, $24.95).
But is one cup of wine an issue by the time it's partially evaporated and divided into eight servings? That depends on the person and why he or she avoids alcohol.

"For people who are fighting to stay sober, it's really critical to avoid even small amounts," said Scott, who is in recovery from alcohol addiction. "The smell and taste can be an enormous trigger."

In Utah, alcohol consumption is often considered a religious issue. But there are other reasons people choose not to drink it — they need to drive, they are recovering from alcoholism, they are pregnant and don't want to harm the baby, or it interferes with their medications (more than 9,000 medicines carry alcohol warnings, Scott notes).

"When I gave up drinking nine years ago, I discovered that less than 10 percent of the entire population consumes 100 percent of the alcohol sold in America," said Scott in a telephone interview from her home in New Jersey. "People who drink think that everybody does. But as you become a non-drinker, you meet so many people who choose not to drink, for whatever reason. I do a lot of catering, and I've found that certainly we can have festive celebrations without alcohol."
Scott's book contains about 150 alcohol-free dishes and beverages for parties throughout the year.
"If you're taking alcohol from the party atmosphere, you must put something back in that's festive and fun," Scott said. "All too often abstainers are offered boring beverages they could get out of a vending machine."
A New Year's suggestion is ratafia, a Mediterranean aromatic drink traditionally infused with red wine. Scott uses pomegranate juice instead. The book has recipes for other "mocktails," such as cordials, daiquiris and margaritas.
"When we substitute for alcohol, we need to consider the overall taste it's contributing," she said. In her margarita recipe, orange-flavored club soda replaces Triple Sec and dilutes the sweet-and-sour taste of the limeade and lemon.
One caution about mocktails: Their resemblance to the real thing can be a trigger for people in the early stages of sobriety. "From what we know, for the first six months to a year, these visual clues can induce craving," Scott said. "But the brain is a wonderful organ. If you provide it with new memories, it will crowd out the old ones, and these cues tend to have less of a hold."
During her first year of sobriety, she put her wine glasses away; nine years later, she has no problem drinking sparkling juice from them.
For New Year's Eve, she suggests serving sugared grapes. In Spain, it's a tradition to munch one grape at each strike of the clock. "No one will even notice the absence of a champagne toast."
Or host a daytime brunch and serve cocoa and hot cider, which is what Scott will do this year.
When cooking, the amount of alcohol left behind can vary. In a study published in the April 1992 Journal of the American Dietetics Association, food scientists found that a greater amount of alcohol evaporated with longer cooking times and higher heat. Also, wine evaporated more easily than beer or hard liquor:
• A wine-based sauce, simmered for 2 1/2 hours, can retain about 5 percent of its alcohol; when cooked for 15 minutes, it can retain up to 40 percent.
• Alcohol that is quickly flamed (as in the classic Cherries Jubilee) can retain 75 percent of its alcohol.
• When alcohol is added to a boiling liquid and removed from the heat, up to 85 percent of the alcohol can be retained.
• A dish baked 25 minutes can retain 45 percent of the alcohol.
• An unheated sauce, stored uncovered overnight in the refrigerator, can lose 30 percent of its alcohol.
Most recipes call for a small amount of alcohol for flavor, Scott said. But in some recipes, such as fondue and beef bourguignon, the alcohol contributes greatly to the dish's flavor, texture and balance.
"You can't just substitute a bottle of grape juice for cabernet," she said. "Both the sweet and acidic component need to be present."
Her general rule is three parts sweet (such as grape juice or apple juice) to one part acid (vinegar or lemon juice). "Apple tends to be nice with pork and poultry, and lemon is very friendly to seafood," she said.
She advises against "alcohol-free" spirits, because "legally, they can contain up to .05 percent alcohol and still be considered alcohol-free. They're loaded with sodium and tend to be very sweet."
Flavor extracts, such as vanilla, contain a minimum of 35 percent alcohol, she said. There are glycerin-based, alcohol-free products, but they're hard to find.
Again, this may — or may not — be an issue. "If you're making three dozen chocolate chip cookies with a teaspoon of vanilla, and giving the cookies to someone recovering, it's probably not going to make any difference," she said. "But if you're in recovery and doing the baking, and you're holding the bottle of vanilla and the fumes are going straight up your nose, maybe that's not such a good idea."
POMEGRANATE RATAFIA
1 32-ounce bottle sweetened pomegranate juice
1 whole vanilla bean, uncut
1 small orange or clementine, cut into pieces, pulp and skin included
Juice of half a lemon
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit, uncovered, 2 hours or until the ratafia is at room temperature. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer and chill. Serve well-chilled. Serves 8. — "Sober Celebrations"
SUGARED GRAPE CLUSTERS
1 1/2 pounds red or green seedless grapes, cut into 8 clusters of 12
3 tablespoons meringue powder (or 3 large pasteurized egg whites plus 3 tablespoons water)
2 cups granulated sugar
Wash grape clusters. Pat dry with paper towels. Prepare meringue powder according to package directions, or beat egg whites until slightly foamy.
Pour sugar on a rimmed baking sheet lined with waxed paper.
Using a pastry brush, lightly and evenly coat the grapes with the egg whites and immediately roll them in the sugar. Check for missed spots and reapply the meringue and sugar if necessary.
Transfer clusters to a cake rack and allow to set at room temperature. Keep them in a cool, dry place (do not refrigerate) until you're ready to serve. Alternately, you can freeze the clusters on a clean tray, covered lightly with plastic wrap, and serve frozen.
When midnight arrives, guests can eat one grape at each stroke of the clock. — "Sober Celebrations"
FROZEN MARGARITAS IN THE BUFF
1 12-ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed and undiluted
1 12-ounce can frozen limeade concentrate, thawed and undiluted
1 cup confectioners' sugar
6 cups crushed ice
1-liter bottles orange-flavored club soda
Lime wedges and coarse salt for rimming
Lime slices or swizzle sticks for garnish
Place lemonade and limeade concentrate, sugar and crushed ice in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a pitcher, cover and freeze. When mixture is firm (several hours later), remove the pitcher from the freezer and allow to thaw for 30 minutes. Whisk club soda into pitcher until the drink is slushy. Pour into prepared glasses and serve.
To rim the glasses with salt, run a lime wedge around the rim, then invert onto a plate of coarse salt. These can be made ahead of time and lined up on a serving tray. Garnish with lime slices and/or swizzle sticks. Serves 5-6. — "Sober Celebrations"
BARLEY WATER
The famed French chef Escoffier had vats of this on hand for the kitchen staff, to keep them from "nipping at the bottle" while on duty. It's been served at the annual Wimbledon tennis tournament since 1934.
2 cups pearl barley
1 gallon spring water
1 cup granulated sugar
Juice of 8 oranges, strained
Juice of 4 lemons, strained
Orange and lemon slices for garnish
Rinse the barley in a colander under cold-running water until water runs clear, 1-2 minutes. In a large stockpot, bring the spring water and sugar to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add rinsed barley and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 1 hour. Remove from heat, strain into a large pot or jug, and allow to cool to room temperature. Stir in the juices; and add more sugar to taste. Serve chilled, garnished with fruit slices. — "Sober Celebrations"

E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com

sincerely,

Bill ALlen