Dry whites for cooking

[AlaMoi]

there are many recipes / dishes which call for some minor amount of wine.  I'm cooking for two; volume wise half a cup, one cup is the usual need.
for those in the 'red' category, there's port, maderia, Marsala, etc.  these are shelf stable, longish keeping wines.

in the middle, the sherries.  okay, but frankly a bit taste-overdone for my preference....

then there's the white wine camp.  or perhaps more accurately, there isn't an obvious white wine camp...  is there a shelf stable long keeping white suitable for cooking?

for years I campaigned - suggesting vintners provide a bag-in-box small qty of white/reds that could easily store in the fridge for cooking needs.  typically the bag-in-box allows the bag to collapse, not exposing the remaining contents to oxygen/etc, so it would keep-better-longer.
longer?  on a tear I may do 2-3 dishes with a wine sauce/need per month.  DW's medications allow only minimal alcohol/wine, and I'm not a sot, so a (750 ml) bottle less half-a-cup is a lot of wine looking for a consumer at our joint.....

being in Pennsylvania and subject to the inane state store selections & policies, only recently have bag-box wines appeared.  I previous tried the airline size bottles for whites - ugh! is all I can say....what a waste of good food ingredients.....

anyone tried the white small qty bag-in-box for "dry white wine" cooking?
does the bag-in-box actually promote keeping it for multiple weeks?

[Anna N]

Have you considered dry vermouth?   Julia child considered it a perfectly adequate replacement for white wine in most cases.   It does not have an unlimited shelf life but certainly much longer than white wine if refrigerated.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Anna N (log)

[chefmd]

Do you have sous vide?  You can probably sous vide left over wine and it will last for a while.  I never tried it since drinking whats left in the bottle after cooking seems to be a logical choice in our household.

[Martin Fisher]

27 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

does the bag-in-box actually promote keeping it for multiple weeks?

 

Some suggest reasonable quality is maintained for 4-6 weeks after opening.

 

Anna's suggestion is a good one. Julia used Noilly Prat dry vermouth.

I like that option when a "splash" of "wine" is called for but beyond a "splash" I often find it objectionable...I much prefer wine in that case.

 

If you're lucky enough to have a winery nearby perhaps you can request some stock packed in smaller bottles.

That's what I do....ferment and pack my own....in 187ml clear champagne bottles for situations where a small amount of wine is needed.

 

 

 

[Lisa Shock]

The bag in box does work very well. Target carries a decent series of wines that come in a cube shaped cardboard box with the bag. (smaller size is aseptic pack) I think these are better than the usual wine in a box brands, and I have kept a Pinot Grigio at room temperature for about 4 weeks with no ill effects. No idea if you can buy this wine in PA.

 

When I was in culinary school we used red and white from a box with a bag, from Shamrock, it was not marked with a brand just the wine color. The box was approximately 18" x 18" x 30". It wasn't great wine, but I never noticed going sour, either.

 

You could try freezing excess wine. (use an ice cube tray or muffin tin, then transfer to a freezer container or plastic bag -I would vacuum seal it) Some people swear by it, but, freezing does alter the wine's taste making it undesirable for drinking. I have not done it myself, but, I guess if all you are doing is using a little to deglaze a pan for a robust sauce, some sublteness was going to be lost anyways in the cooking process.

[AlaMoi]

the vermouths I've met had a very strong taste - I'm open to any good ideas - any recommendations on 'the mildest' vermouth brands?

no sous vide in the house; no intent to go there.  interesting idea tho....

freezing - anyone with experience in this please chime in - I made a rack for the freezer so I can 'mount' 10 ounce plastic cups set up to make 8 fl ounce i.e. one cup stock ice cubes.  would be a neat solution for one-cup-winecicles.....  I freeze the stock in the cups, then dunk in hot water & extract to plastic bags for storage.

the standard bag-in-box is 9 liter; set up like that to mimic the 12 x 750 ml = 9 liter wine "case" volume.

I reckon I should start tasting my way thru the PA boxed selections.  jeesh I sure hope they're better than the airline bottle-size selection.

[kayb]

Bota Box, my box wine of choice (love their old vine zin) has a respectable Pinot Grigio that isn't bad for drinking or cooking. Bota also makes "little" boxes, .500 ml, as I recall, in size. The normal size is 3L, which you'd have to keep for a LONG time to use in cooking. Like Lisa, I've found wine in a bag-and-box keeps 4-6 weeks.

[lesliec]

6 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

If you're lucky enough to have a winery nearby perhaps you can request some stock packed in smaller bottles.

 

 

Even without a winery nearby, why not repack a commercial bottle into smaller screwcap ones, either recycled or bought from a suitable source?  Keep the 'spares' in the fridge until you're ready to use one; I can see them keeping for months.

[lindag]

I have been using dry vermouth as my white wine for cooking for years.  Never had a bottle go bad.

It sure beats trying to have the right white on hand.