Does pressure cooking preserve alcohol?
I use my pressure cooker a lot and for one recipe I'm practically bathing a few pork loins in white wine. I know that pressure cooking only reduces liquid by less than five percent, and I know that cooking only reduces alcohol by evaporation not breaking down of molecules (or at least I think so). So does pressure cooking only reduce alcohol content by ~5% (since the stuff that evaporates will probably be mostly alcohol? Or will the alcohol content in the steam be much higher? Even in that case, if I let it sit before releasing pressure, most of the steam will turn back into liquid.
Basically, can I add "helps get you tipsy" to the list of my InstantPot's many features?
Best Answer
The boiling point of alcohol is 173°F - your pressure cooker will reach temperatures of up to 240-250°F.
My husband is in the "sensor" business and he equipped my kitchen with a gas detector. I often pressure cook risotto with 1/4 cup of wine and when I release pressure the alarm goes off signifying a large concentration of ethanol in the air.
In fact, pressure cookers are used to distill alcohol at temperatures lower than pressure cooking.
I did some research of Scientific Journal Articles and did not find any specific studies that measured exactly HOW MUCH alcohol is evaporated during pressure cooking - but my educated guess says is that it's quite a bit!
Pictures about "Does pressure cooking preserve alcohol?"
Quick Answer about "Does pressure cooking preserve alcohol?"
Does Beer Cook Out In Pressure Cooker? Since a pressure cooker is a sealed unit, the alcohol will remain in the dish if you use too much beer or wine. If you wish to reduce the amount of alcohol in the recipe, you should do so.Will alcohol cook out in a pressure cooker?
The alcohol doesn't cook off; it gets trapped in the sealed pressure cooker, and condenses back into the liquid.Does alcohol remain after cooking?
The longer you cook, the more alcohol cooks out, but you have to cook food for about 3 hours to fully erase all traces of alcohol. A study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Nutrient Data lab confirmed this and added that food baked or simmered in alcohol for 15 minutes still retains 40 percent of the alcohol.Is it safe to put beer in a pressure cooker?
It is perfectly safe to add beer to any recipe in a pressure cooker. (well, any recipe you might use beer for outside a pressure cooker).Does Alcohol Really Burn Off When Cooked?
More answers regarding does pressure cooking preserve alcohol?
Answer 2
Since a pressure cooker does not release any vapors, all of the alcohol will remain in the pot until you open the lid. In fact, even when cooking in an open pot, a large amount of alcohol will remain in your liquid(Wikipedia:Cooking_with_alcohol). While it is true that alcohol has a lower boiling point than water in their pure forms, a mixture of water and ethanol will boil together, with both water and alcohol vaporizing. Wikipedia: Raoult's Law
Answer 3
Assuming your pressure cooker doesn't vent a ton of vapor, this should work. In that case, all you're losing is the vapor that's inside the cooker when you open it.
It is true that the vapor will contain a higher concentration of alcohol than the liquid, e.g. 5% alcohol liquid might produce 25-35% alcohol vapor. (I had a little trouble finding exact numbers for the elevated pressure, but I don't think precision is necessary here.) But the vapor itself is only going to be in the ballpark of a gram per liter. So depending on the amount of open space in the pressure cooker, you might lose a few grams of an alcohol-water vapor mixture, at worst equivalent to losing a few mL of 80-proof liquor. I assume that's small compared to the amount you're putting in.
On the other hand if it vents significant vapor, the loss could approach the same ballpark as the usual loss from boiling. I'm not sure how to estimate the vapor released from a pressure cooker, but this does mean you could potentially lose upwards of half of it depending on how long you cook.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Pixabay, Rajukhan Pathan, Göran Svensson, ANTONI SHKRABA production