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Originally posted by Seaquam:
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Originally posted by The Cabernet of Doctor Caligari:
TCA, the molecule most frequently mentioned with regard to corked wine, is 'attracted' to non-water soluble molecules, so when cooking with butter, oil, or some other source of some fat (especially cream), the TCA tends to bind to those other molecules and its effect on the taste of the dish is GREATLY diminished compared to its relative effect on tasting the wine. Probably to the point of invisibility.
In wine, those fatty molecules are not available to bind the TCA and its effect is much more noticeable.
I say, cook away!
The science makes some sense, though I can't help but reduce this topic to a much simpler observation: if I put a large amount of something that tastes bad into a recipe, why would I expect the final product to taste good?
Personally, if I couldn't drink it, I wouldn't use it.
Coincidentally, I'm just waiting for a beef and carrot stew to cook down some more. I used only about a cup of 2000 Ch. Mayne-Vieil Fronsac, which I'm also going to drink with the stew when it's ready.
I watched a TV cook ("French Food at Home," or something close to that) make this a couple of weeks ago, and she used balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan after browning the meat, which I had never done (or even thought about) before, so I tried it tonight. Adds some expectedly forceful flavour and a bit of extra richness to the sauce. I'll use it again.
You raise interesting points!
I've never run into "corked" foods or sauces, at home or at a restaurant, so my own level of worry about the use of corked wine in cooking is quite low. I've used wines that, to my palate, were corked in my own cooking adventures, and not had the phenomenon persist. There may be palates more delicate than mine, however. I guess the thing to do would be to take a gamble and see.
I guess now we should ask if anybody has noticed "corked food!"Some things you may be interested in, at the risk of 'ruining' a dish, would be to prepare a sauce without any fatty ingredients and see what you notice. Then, as you add oil or aother source of fat, see what the flavor curve is.
Also, the TCA molecule is disporportionately fond of bining to plastics. As such, some people believe you can remove, or at least greatly reduce, the amount of TCA in a wine by putting something (clean) made of polyethylene into the wine, waiting an hour, and seeing what you taste. There are even commercial products for this purpose, and it may be a 'wine saver' for keeping on hand in case you open a corked wine that is not returnable!
This binding phenomenon may also be seen ("may," not for certain) with exposure to cellulose products such as corn or some other plant rich in this material. For cooking, it may also be as simple as cooking with vegetables to remove the TCA from corked wine.
There is no health risk associated with consuming corked wine, so the only gamble one would be taking would be the risk of seeing if the corked taste remained.
Cheers!
) cooked with a corked wine? I just poured an entire bottle of Cotes du Rhone into a beef stew without smelling it, tasting it or looking at the cork. What a dumb move!
