Great ‘how to use up old booze’ hunt

jumblejack

eightof8 wrote: »

if you find you wake up after a party with loads of half empty/half full cans of lager. Put them in the fridge and revitalise them by mixing with freshly opened cans half old and half new.

i am not sure that i would like to consume from a used can if you can't be sure who drank from it first. The last remnants in a can contain a lot of phlegm! Euggh!

jumblejack

jumblejack wrote: »

baileys tip...


Fold into softened icecream, even the cheapest value stuff. Tastes just like baileys haagan daas!!!!!

personally, i never use baileys. Pricey stuff. I do however use the stores cheapest version of irish cream. I defy anyone to taste the difference. Less than half the price too. My local store has the same size bottle for £3.99!!!

jumblejack

Thinking of ice cream, how about cheering up old spirits and making a quick rum n raisin ice cream?

Ali_UK

Not sure if it's already been mentioned but there's a great cookbook you can read online, google 'cooking with booze' has loads of recipes although the only one I've tried so far is the mojito cupcakes

thebigbosh

I'm big on marinades and BBQs, so generally I do my preparations for cooking a couple of days in advance and leave whatever meat/fish/veg I'm planning to cook marinading for that time.

Wine, cider, beer, spirits all work for great marinades - experiment with the combinations, herbs and flavours.

For example I recently marinated a large pork loin for a couple of days in a blended mixture of leftover beer, fresh apple and peppercorns. The meat was so succulent and tasty after cooking and I added a couple of tablespoons from the marinade to the gravy as well - came out classic.

juicyjude

Didnt know you could freeze wine. Oh no, I threw some sauce away this weekend which I had made with red wine! Oh well I know now for the future.

harryhound

If in a hurry to cool white wine, you pop it into the freezer and forget it.
The broken glass will remind you that wine freezes.

At a push you can give a bottle of red a quick blast in the microwave if your "cellar" gets too cold (good for conserving the wine but suppresses the flavour until up to room temperature)

clairehi

I am amazed by some of the things people get up to with dodgy old booze!
supermarket wine is sold to be drunk within 6 montyhs, it usually says this on the label.

once a bottle of wine has been opened, it will start to deteriorate straight away. I would give it 48 hours max to drink, if kept with a cork in, in a cool dark place. fizzy wine - will be lucky if drinkable the next night.


If you have a 2 month old half drunk bottle of wine in the fridge, do yourself and your guests a favour and pour it away! It is no good for drinking, and if you wouldnt drink it why would you cook with it! at least it wont be taking up space in the fridge any more.

if you have an old unopened bottle of spirits which you wont drink, why not donate it as a raffle or tombola prize for charity etc.

I had a flatmate once who proudly showed me a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau she had been given several years previously and had kept on top of the fridge for a special occasion. It had bleached completely white. DOH!

clairehi

Mr_Warren wrote: »

Oh and i also use "old" wine to serve to people who want to drink it with limonade. Why on earth would i serve good quality El Plonco for them to kill it with a mixer. I add ice cubes to the mix and sometime (if i feel posh) a squeeze of lime. I can't remember them ever complaining about it.

But do they ever come back?

ChapelGirl

The ends of the bottles of red go into the ceramic vinegar jar we bought in France. One of the previous posts says theirs is milder than shop-bought, but we have found the opposite to be the case. Ours is so strong you need to dilute it with water before use or it makes your eyes water!

I'm with Clairehi on the opened bottles of supermarket plonk! Drink quickly, put it in your casserole or chuck in the vinegar jar quickly or pour it down the sink - DEFINITELY NOT in the guests!

Unopened bottles of white wine should usually be drunk within 2 or 3 years of bottling (though there are some exceptions among the "big name" wines). Cheap reds likewise, but anything chateau bottled will usually keep for years, not that it ever gets the opportunity in our house! However, no wine will survive being stored on a shelf above a radiator, in the attic or in the spare room near the window etc. I don't think most modern UK houses have a suitable place to store wine properly. Drinking badly kept wine won't do any harm of course, and it may even taste OK, but it won't be at its best. Would you offer your friends a fluff-covered old toffee from your coat pocket? OK - maybe you would!:rotfl: