No-alcohol recipes, with the wine and beer flagged
Set no alcohol once. Saucepan flags wine, beer, spirits and mirin, and suggests a swap that keeps the flavour.
Android is coming soon.
Saucepan is a cooking app. A flag is a guide, not a guarantee, and it is not medical or religious advice. Always check labels, and ask your doctor, dietitian or religious authority when it matters.
What the no alcohol filter does
Set it once, for everyone you cook for. Explore and your own recipes then show what fits, flag the ingredient that does not, and suggest a swap.
What Saucepan flags
- Wine, beer, cider, spirits, liqueurs and cooking wine.
- Mirin, sake and rum or brandy in desserts.
Where it cannot know
- Trace alcohol in extracts, soy sauce, vinegar and some ferments. Saucepan flags the clear cases and does not flag these.
- Alcohol in packaged foods that the recipe does not name.
- How much alcohol remains after cooking. It depends on method and time, and can be a large share.
In short. Cooking does not remove all alcohol. If you avoid it for health, recovery or belief, leave the ingredient out instead of cooking it off.
Common no alcohol swaps
What to use instead, and how to use it.
Instead of Red wine
Beef or mushroom stock plus a splash of red wine vinegar
Grape juice gives sweetness. Add vinegar for the acid wine brings.
Instead of White wine
Chicken or vegetable stock plus lemon juice
About one tablespoon of lemon juice per quarter cup of stock.
Instead of Beer
Sparkling water for batter, or malty non-alcoholic stout in stews
Sparkling water keeps batter light. Check that the non-alcoholic beer is labelled as such.
Instead of Mirin
Rice vinegar and a pinch of sugar
About one tablespoon of vinegar and half a teaspoon of sugar per tablespoon of mirin.
Instead of Rum or brandy in baking
Apple juice, orange juice or alcohol-free vanilla
Soak dried fruit in warm juice. Use a small amount of alcohol-free flavouring.
Instead of Vanilla extract
Vanilla paste or alcohol-free vanilla
Many extracts are about a third alcohol. Alcohol-free versions use glycerin.
Does this ingredient fit?
Type an ingredient and pick a diet. This is a quick guide built from Saucepan’s own ingredient table. It runs on your device.
Pick a starting point or type your own. Sauces and packaged foods vary, so the answer is a guide.
Questions
Does cooking remove alcohol?
Not all of it. Depending on method and time, a notable share can remain, so Saucepan flags the ingredient rather than assuming it cooks off.
Does it flag vanilla extract?
No. Extracts are a trace-level case, and views differ. If you avoid it completely, use the alcohol-free vanilla swap.
Is vinegar flagged?
No. Vinegar is made by fermentation and is treated differently by different people. Decide by your own guidance.
Related
Android is coming soon.
Saucepan is a cooking app. A flag is a guide, not a guarantee, and it is not medical or religious advice. Always check labels, and ask your doctor, dietitian or religious authority when it matters.