Can You Drink Cooking Wine?

by Charlie
Cooking Wine

Cooking wine is a type of wine explicitly manufactured for cooking. The alcohol content in cooking wine is relatively high since most of it will burn off when cooking. It contains added salt to enhance the flavor and other preservatives that enable a longer shelf-life than other wines. It has various white and red wines, but the most common one is red wine. 

You might have run out of your regular wine and maybe probably asking the question, can you drink cooking wine? Yes, you can, but you shouldn’t since it is not intended for drinking as it contains high alcohol content, salt, and calories. Besides the taste being unpleasant, it is also associated with health problems because of the high sodium levels. These may contribute to heart diseases, liver illnesses, and even kidney issues.

Since it has a high alcohol level and is available in the stores for teens, it poses a significant danger. 

What are the Dangers of Drinking Cooking Wine?

More than often, most alcoholic drinks are associated with actual risks and dangers. Cooking wine is no exception since it contains large amounts of alcohol. Although most of it gets burnt off during the cooking process, it remains just as high when drunk from the bottle. 

Before taking that sip of your cooking wine, consider the dangers you might be posing to your body:

Easy Alcohol Access and Dependency

Many teens would overlook the ID checks at the store and opt for cooking wine due to the ease of access since it is under the kitchen ingredients aisle. Therefore, those who drink cooking wine habitually tend to have a faster alcohol dependency rate and addiction. 

Mental Health Disorders

Too much alcohol consumption can lead to critical problems related to addiction, such as depression, anxiety, psychosis, and anti-social personality disorders. Also, they can be aggressive and impulsive, thus hurting themselves and others. Therefore, it is best to avoid drinking cooking wine if you have a history of such disorders.

Does Cooking Wine Go Bad?

You might have bought a large number of cooking wine bottles hoping to last for a very long time. However, you notice that it is past the expiration date, thus posing whether cooking wine goes bad? Unfortunately, yes. Cooking wine usually goes bad after a while, even if you left it unopened. 

Most cooking wines tend to have an expiration date set for about one year after production. Moreover, if you haven’t opened your wine, it is still good to use after the expiry date, which can be three to five years. However, it is best not to take that risk and toss it instead to avoid poisoning. You should always ensure you follow the recommended wine storage set temperatures, which also applies to cooking wine. 

In cases where you had opened your cooking wine bottle, it will remain good for a little over a year. It is best always to remember to refrigerate one you’ve opened. In other scenarios, you can freeze your wine for a bit more shelf-life, although it might not prevent it from ultimately going bad.

You should understand that just because your wine has been stored on your shelf for several years doesn’t necessarily make it an aged wine. This fact applies to cooking wine, too, for it is no different than other alcoholic beverages. Note that even the best liquor can go bad.

Other Risks of Drinking Cooking Wine?

Apart from addiction, mental disorders, and alcohol dependency, there are also other health risks to drinking cooking wine.

Let’s delve in:

Risk #1: Liver Illnesses

The liver is an essential organ in your body that processes alcohol. When too much cooking wine gets consumed, the liver tends to use more energy and overwork, thus causing damage. When this happens, conditions such as alcohol-related liver disease are common among people who regularly take in large amounts of alcohol. 

Risk #2: Kidney Problems

 You may wonder whether you can drink cooking wine without posing a health risk. Well, the answer is no. You can’t. Besides alcohol, cooking wine contains a high salt content, making it not an ideal beverage to drink. 

Consuming a high amount of salt can cause deposits in your kidneys, thus causing complications such as chronic renal disease or renal failure at the worst. Therefore, high salt deposits ruin the delicate balance of kidneys filtering toxins in your body. 

Risk #3: Causes Heart and Blood Circulation Complications

Most people in the general population suffer from heart complications and heart issues. When other organs such as kidneys and livers are overworked, the risk of high blood pressure gets increased for those who consume cooking wine. 

The salt content and inadequacies of the other organs make it challenging for blood to pass through the vessels, affecting circulation the process. Hypertension causes blocked arteries and other fatal heart problems, especially for those progressive in age.

Final Thoughts

  • Cooking wine is not intended for drinking since it contains high quantities of alcohol, salt, and calories. The taste can also be unpleasant and can causehealth problems associated with high sodium levels, such as heart diseases.
  • There are several dangers associated with consuming cooking wine, such as addiction, alcohol dependency, and mental disorders. You should therefore avoid drinking cooking wine for your betterment.
  • Just like any other alcoholic beverage, cooking wine goes bad after expiration, even when you haven’t opened the bottle. 
  • When consuming cooking wine, beware of other health risks that may occur. These risks are such as liver illnesses, kidney problems and can cause heart and circulation complications.

You may also like