# I wanted to cook a risotto, but it has wine in the recipe... Will that be bad for baby?



## NinaUk (Jan 2, 2009)

Hi, I am 25 weeks pregnant and don't drink any alcohol. I wanted to try a new recipe out for a yummy looking mushroom risotto but it has wine in it... will this be bad for baby or does the cooking process burn off the alcohol content? Sorry if this is a silly question but I would really appreciate your thoughts!


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## cristeen (Jan 20, 2007)

The simmering will cook off about 90% of the alcohol.

And seriously, the effects of that minor amount of alcohol is not something to be concerned about, IMO. We're the only country in the world that is so anti-alcohol that any pregnant woman who even has a swallow of wine is looked at askance.


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## woodchick (Jan 5, 2007)

Alternately, I have a great risotto recipe that calls for wine and I just substitute a little water instead. It always tastes delicious.

(I'm not against alcohol, persay, we just don't drink it and therefore never have any on hand for cooking, y'know?)


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## dillonandmarasmom (May 30, 2005)

The wine is reduced to almost nothing. No worries, mama.

What cristeen said, too


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## beep (Aug 18, 2009)

How much alcohol cooks off probably depends on how long the risotto cooks after the wine is added, and at what temperature. See http://www.ochef.com/165.htm for helpful information. It looks from this table like in a risotto something like 2/3 of the alcohol would cook off. So that leaves you to figure out whether the leftover amount is an acceptable risk during pregnancy.

Personally, I am comfortable having a few sips of someone else's wine (1-2 oz) no more than once a week during pregnancy, and I would not hesitate to cook and eat most recipes that call for wine. I would figure, say, that there might be (very generously) 1.5 cup (12 oz) of wine in a 4-serving recipe of risotto, and then the alcohol from 8 oz of it cooks off, leaving about 1 oz of wine's worth of alcohol per serving in the completed dish.


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## MeepyCat (Oct 11, 2006)

I would have no hesitation in cooking or eating risotto with wine in it while pregnant. It's a pretty small amount, it has a lot of time to cook down/off, and I think the occasional drink is safe during pregnancy anyway.


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## Fujiko (Nov 11, 2006)

I don't drink alcohol usually either but I cook with it often, even while pregnant. Most of the alcohol cooks out, plus the recipes I use usually call for such little amounts of wine that the amount per serving would be really small even if it didn't cook out. I've never worried about it, and I've never felt the effects of it (I can drink a couple swallows of wine and FEEL myself getting tipsy, so that's saying a lot!).


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## Carson (May 21, 2005)

I made risotto yesterday (with wine) and it didn't even occur to me to be concerned about it. You put a small amount of wine in at the very beginning and cook it until it evaporates anyway. If it were a big amount added at the end, sure I could see being concerned.


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## Bluegoat (Nov 30, 2008)

There just isn't any reason to worry about that much alcohol.


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## pjs (Mar 30, 2005)

I wouldn't worry at all.


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## pumpkin (Apr 8, 2003)

I would not worry even the tiniest bit.

Have a great meal.


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## Astraia (Jan 1, 2009)

I wouldn't worry about it.

I made a white wine and onion soup last week, in fact (all it had was onions, wine, chicken stock, and heavy cream). It was delicious, and I cooked it for awhile so most of the alcohol would cook off.

Yum risotto!!

I should've added ingredients for that to the shopping list for DH, what a wonderful idea!


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## KoalaMommy (Apr 7, 2004)

You'll be fine. I cook with wine all the time, heat destroys the alcohol, all that is left is a yummy flavor!


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## Kidzaplenty (Jun 17, 2006)

Perhaps you could share your recipie!







Then we could all try it out and let you know if you should try it!


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## pianojazzgirl (Apr 6, 2006)

Oh man, y'all are makin' me HUNGRY!


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## JenBuckyfan (Nov 30, 2007)

You can also always sub chicken stock (or veggie stock) for some or all of the wine if you'd like. Alcohol never fully burns off - I would base my decision to use wine on how much I planned to eat of it and how much wine was in it. If the recipe calls for 2 cups of wine and the recipe makes 6-8 servings and I'll only be having one or 1.5 servings then I'd personally have no issues with using it. If I was going to eat 3 servings, I might consider replacing some of the wine, but that's how I roll!


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## EdnaMarie (Sep 9, 2006)

I would go ahead provided you aren't getting more than one serving of alcohol in what you consume, cooked or not, but frankly, I've never seen a recipe that requires that much wine even per 2-3 servings.


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## NinaUk (Jan 2, 2009)

Thank you so much for the replies everyone!








OK Kidzaplenty here is the link for the recipe:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3...pinach-risotto
It looks so yummy and I think I am going to try it next week!








I think 150ml of wine is ok for serving two... sorry, I am so clueless, I have never cooked with wine before!


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## ZoraP (Jun 11, 2009)

I totally agree -- we cook with wine all the time, including food we offer our kids to eat. It's really not a problem at all for all the reasons people have already given.

Obviously we all know that heavy drinking is harmful whether it takes place during pregnancy or not. But the human body can process small amounts of alcohol with no ill effects whatsoever, and the very uptight attitude toward it has more to do with morals than with medical science. After all, if you are willing to take Tylenol for a headache while pregnant, you're asking your liver to process that drug just as it has to process a few ml of wine.


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