Forum Thermomix
Welcoming Center, Management and General Chat => Chit Chat => Topic started by: bickie on March 13, 2012, 03:21:22 pm
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Does anyone know if ok to serve children meals made with alcohol when prepared in thermomix. Was thinking of doing the beef with Guinness stew, but wondered if that meant I was giving the kids alcohol. I think I read somewhere on a stove top it evaporates leaving just the flavour so is ok to serve children. Assuming the same in thermomix ? Any chemists out there????
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I'm sure that heat kills the alcohol content and just leaves the flavouring. So I'm certain it's safe. But better get someone else to confirm that for sure :)
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Im sure there will be some leftovers of alcohol but probably very little. I know that when you cook Boeuf Bourguignon some alcohol is still left after boiling softly for more then 1½ hour with no lid. Guiness has less alcohol then wine but most likely there will too be a bit of alcohol left. How much depends on cooking time and amount of beer your dish has.
Anyway i would consider it safe for children to eat unless they have an enormous appetite ;D
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To reduce the alcohol content the food has to be cooked for a specific time at or above a specific temperature. Rapid cooking, even flaming, does not lessen the percentage of alcohol appreciably.
Alcohol in soups and stews that are cooked more than 30 minutes is reduced to a point where it will have no effect.
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Thank you!
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Thank you Andie & Bluesed. Very useful information.
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yes it was extremely interesting
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This is good to know. I don't use alcohol in cooking very often, probably only a beer batter or my Christmas puddings.
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My kids love that beef and Guinness stew.
Robyn
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Looking it up i found that after 1½ hours of soft boiling without a lid there will be 20% alcohol left.
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http://www.a-1associates.com/aa/INFO%20LIST/residualalcoholleftaftecook.htm
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We use alcohol in a number of recipes and alot of them are staple french recipes that are often fed to children an there have never been any issues concerning alcohol content thy i have heard of... I know the flavour of the alcohol lways stys but the alcohol content doesnt but at what percentage i have mo idea.. Would be interesting to know exactly as i always assumed it evaporated at a certain heat??
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The alcohol evaporates at all temperatures above freezing point(in an non closed container) but how much depends on the temperature, the surface and how much time.
I posted a link before where you can see the leftovers of alcohol after cooking.
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Thx blueseed... I do however think it bothers anglophone countries more than europeans in general as this topic has never been an issue in the twelve years ive lived over here.. The small amount in any given recipe would hardly do any harm anyhow except maybe baba au rhum which no kid would touch anyway lol
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Thx blueseed... I do however think it bothers anglophone countries more than europeans in general as this topic has never been an issue in the twelve years ive lived over here.. The small amount in any given recipe would hardly do any harm anyhow except maybe baba au rhum which no kid would touch anyway lol
I have to be careful because I am allergic to alcohol (causes swelling in the larynx and other soft tissues around the nose, mouth and throat.)
I can cook with alcohol as long as the residual level is below about 5%, but any dessert finished with raw alcohol is forbidden. I use it in baking cakes and pies as the prolonged exposure to oven heat will reduce it but I am cautious about eating any that has had a significant amount. I taste first to see if I get that tell-tale tingle in my mouth and if so, don't eat more.
Soups and stews, because they are cooked for a prolonged time, especially when it is wine, that has a low alcohol percentage to start with, are okay. I don't add wine at the end, as some cooks do.
I also often have guests that don't use alcohol for religious reasons, either Muslims or Mormons, and I always omit any alcohol from dishes I cook for them and I use flavorings that are also non-alcoholic - vanilla extract made with glycerin or vanilla powder.
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Thanks for that link Blused - very interesting. My Guinness stew ended up being the casualty of London traffic jam and very long swimming gala - so cooked for 10 hours in slow cooker - so i'm guessing that's not going to have the children swinging from the roof beams. Frozzie - I agree, the French much more relaxed about it - I used to love going to Paris on business when pregnant as they thought nothing of me having a small glass of wine - where as in US I was given filthy looks having a glass of wine when pregnant - and even had one waitress ask me if I was sure I knew what I was ordering. I was furious. Mind you - I admire anyone who does give up alcohol completely when pregnant - but I had to have a glass now and then - just insisted it was the good stuff as I wasn't having much!
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where as in US I was given filthy looks having a glass of wine when pregnant - and even had one waitress ask me if I was sure I knew what I was ordering. I was furious. Mind you - I admire anyone who does give up alcohol completely when pregnant - but I had to have a glass now and then - just insisted it was the good stuff as I wasn't having much!
I think I might has replied that oops thank you so much I meant to order the whole bottle! The hide. Hope you did not give her a tip.
Gert
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Thanks for that link Blused - very interesting. My Guinness stew ended up being the casualty of London traffic jam and very long swimming gala - so cooked for 10 hours in slow cooker - so i'm guessing that's not going to have the children swinging from the roof beams. Frozzie - I agree, the French much more relaxed about it - I used to love going to Paris on business when pregnant as they thought nothing of me having a small glass of wine - where as in US I was given filthy looks having a glass of wine when pregnant - and even had one waitress ask me if I was sure I knew what I was ordering. I was furious. Mind you - I admire anyone who does give up alcohol completely when pregnant - but I had to have a glass now and then - just insisted it was the good stuff as I wasn't having much!
I am of the opinion that the current crusade against all alcohol during pregnancy has gone a bit overboard. Considering just in the past century, up until the time alcohol became anathema, the live birth rate had been increasing steadily.
Except in extreme cases, where fetal alcohol syndrome was due to excessive alcohol consumption, most newborns did not have problems and I personally knew many women who had moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy and had perfectly normal babies.
In recent years I have known women who were not afraid to have a mild drink (beer or wine) during the latter months of pregnancy and had completely normal pregnancies and their babies, one is now three + and is ahead of her age group in comprehension and social development. She chatters all the time, can carry on a coherent conversation and is even learning to read.
I haven't done any research on the subject but have been told by someone who has, that in some countries, whose live birth rate is higher than that in the U.S., pregnant women are not totally denied alcohol.
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Couldn't agree more andiesenji. In any case I would never ever chastise anyone in public as some do. However I do hate to see pregnant women smoking and any smoking around children.
Gretchen
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Couldn't agree more andiesenji. In any case I would never ever chastise anyone in public as some do. However I do hate to see pregnant women smoking and any smoking around children.
Gretchen
I agree wholeheartedly about the smoking. There have been cases in my area, where children were removed from home by children's protective services because three adults living in the home were all heavy smokers and all four children had been treated repeatedly for asthma at the ER - and all were receiving aid to dependent children and medical care paid for by the state and county. When the case went to court, several months later, none of the children had been seen for any medical problems since being removed from the home. The judge upheld the action by CPS and the children remained with non-smoking grandparents.
People have also received additional charges on traffic citations if they were smoking and had an infant in the vehicle.
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I didnt drink a drop for my ds pregnancy but did habe the occasional glass of wine for my dd pregnancy and they are both intelligent well rounded children. I think as long as the alcohol consumption remains sensible and not hard liquer its all harmless... Have the old saying ringing in my head... Everything in moderation!
Totally agree about smoking... Drives me insane when i see parents smoking with a baby or any young child.
When i first arrived in france smoking was permitted everywhere which was very difficult considering that in oz it was heavily rejected and was a number of years before it started to change and finally eating in a restaurant was more pleasant.. Notbquite there as restaurants still allow smoking on the sidewalk seating which flows through into the interior as often the front of the restaurant have bifold doors to have no barrier between interior and exterior ... It is much better than it was though.. Much much better!!
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I consider myself a moderate to heavy drinker (particuarly compared to DH who doesn't drink) but during both of my preganancies didn't touch a drop. To me it was more a question of whether I could live with myself should my children end up with a birth deformity or later learning difficulties or some other issue which could have a potential link to drinking during pregnancy. I believe everything in moderation and what suits the individual with the exception with smoking, for which I have absolutely no tolerance. I've spent quite a bit of time in Mongolia for work over the last 12 months where they still allow smoking in restaurants and a large % of the population smokes and it drives me insane.
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France used to be like that wonder.. I actually gave up going to restaurants for a few years as i didnt want to pay to have my lungs filled with smoke by the 30 odd other people packed into a small dining room.. I used to feel so sick.. Eventually they bought in non smoking areas where there may be the occasional wiff of smoke but nothing like before to now where no smoking is allowed inside the premises however just outside yes so downside all the smokers gather on the outside seating nd terrace so in summer not so pleasant if you want to be outside... There are less people smoking though so not all bad
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I think when you're pregnant your body is very good at telling you what is good for you and what isn't. Even if someone was smoking down the street from me and I got a whiff I would have an immediate wave of nausea. Still makes me sick thinking about it. I have friends who didn't like the taste of wine when pregnant - but I liked it and found it settled me. My children now 10,8 and 3 and all doing very well academically and socially - it's just their two heads that make me wonder...
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Hahaha bickie... Must get some reactions walking down the street!