When a recipe calls for wine, one option is to use ‘Cooking Wine.’ But, have you ever wondered if ‘Cooking Wine” is the same thing as drinking wine?

Well, there is such a thing as Cooking Wine. You’ll generally find it in the grocery store near the salad dressings, the cooking oil and vinegar. But like so many products, Cooking Wine can be many things. It can range anywhere from what you might call an inexpensive table wine to a product that is called “Cooking Wine” that includes salt, sugar and other artificial flavors.

Depending on the dish you are preparing, the salt, sugar and other flavors might work. But, in general, when a recipe calls for wine, I’d suggest using something from the wine aisle, not the cooking products aisle.

A common recommendation is that you shouldn’t cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink. This doesn’t mean you need to spend big bucks on a wine for cooking. There are plenty of wines, generally on the bottom shelf, that sell for $5 to $10 and are plenty adequate for cooking.

My guess is that the recommendation to cook with a wine you’d like to drink has more to do with the quantity of wine used in most recipes. If your recipe calls for a half-cup (4 oz) of wine, that would mean that you’d still have approximately 21 oz of wine left in the bottle. And, since you can’t put the opened bottle back on the shelf or keep it for more than a few days in the refrigerator, you’ll have the rest of the bottle to enjoy with the meal!

So, next time a recipe calls for wine, skip the “Cooking Wine” and choose something from the wine aisle. Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc work great for recipes that call for white wine while a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Merlot will give nice flavor to a recipe calling for red wine.

Cheers!