When a recipe calls for white wine, does it have to be cooking wine or can it be any wine?

Question

Also, which is better to use dry or not? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

You should always use real wine if you can. The rule is "the better the wine, the better the sauce".

Additionally in marinades, alcohol reacts with the food in a way that cooking wine cannot.

I find that a nice woody chardonnay holds up well. Chenin blanc cooks well also. Generally you cook with drier wines.

Answer 2

When a recipe calls for white wine, I always use dry vermouth. I picked this up from Julia Child, and now I discover that lots of cooks do the same thing.

Red wine is another story.

Answer 3

Any good drinking wine is best, and I like to serve a glass of it with the course that I used it to cook with, if possible. People love that touch. It opens up an entire new area of conversation over dinner. It also shows them that you used a wine to cook with that you were not afraid to serve. Always make your guests feel special.
Your food will always be the sum total of it's ingredients. Bad ingredients = bad food, no matter how good you are in the kitchen.
A big reason not to use cooking wine is that most of it is salted. You never want to add additional salt to a recipe. Overly salted food always ends up tasting like the low end food you get at fast food restaurants and coffee shops. Salt is a great ingredient and a wonderful flavor enhancer. I never put it on the table though, just use it sparingly in the cooking process. That way your food doesn't taste like salt, but rather it is enhanced by it.

Answer 4

the rule of thumb when you are cooking with wine is... if you wouldn't drink it don't use it!! Only cook with a wine that is good enough to drink otherwise it is just not woth the effort. The receipe will usually call for a dry wine or not otherwise you what you like.

Answer 5

do not use cooking wine. They are very high in salt. I like to control my salt with the ingredients. So I usually use a wine that I would drink. For cooking I generally just any chardonnay or sauvignon blanc on hand. Or whatever I find at grocery store for $10 or under.

Answer 6

it can be any wine- and i prefer to use table wine rather than cooking wine- better flavor. depends on what you're cooking, but most recipes that i have come across call for dry wine, so i would use that over a riesling or ice wine

Answer 7

I never use cooking wine. Taste it, you won't either. I generally use dry wine. The flavors are going to cook down so if you use a sweet wine you sauce will be very sweet, almost sugary.

Answer 8

If you wouldn't drink it, then don't cook with it.

As far as dry or not, that depends on what you are cooking. Think about the flavors of the dish, and what compliments them, or contrasts with them.

Chardonnay works with things that are woody because of the oak, like mushrooms, since they are earthy, for example.

I have a recipe that I use for braising a chuck roast with a very dry chardonnay, it has onions and a bit of tomato paste. It comes out terrific, because the flavors compliment each other.

Don't be afraid to experiment.

Answer 9

It can be any wine, But...If it's a wine that's been opened and you figure it's not quite right for drinking so you'll save it for cooking... don't use it. Rule of thumb: If it's not good enough to drink; it's not good enough to cook with.

Answer 10

Oh, don't use cooking wine. I always use a wine I like to drink. Better results. If you can't stand to drink it, you won't like it in your food.