How long will port keep

kah22

How long will a bottle of port keep if used solely for baking or cooking?

It’s Ruby Port I’m using and it is corked

Kevin

fatbelly

The internet seems to think the answer is a couple of months.

However, I've drunk opened port that has been lying around for longer than that and to me it still tasted like port. And that's drinking it neat. In cooking I would imagine it'll be usable for a long time.

McKneff

Corked ?

Do you mean it has a cork in it or it tastes nasty

PipneyJane

If it is vacuum sealed, so that oxygen can't get in, Port keeps forever. If you've just shoved the cork back in, it may last a couple of weeks - you won't get a complete seal.

I've drunk Australian "port", years after the bottle was first opened. That was a screw top bottle that I'd tucked away, after packing up my student home.

- Pip (Port lasts 5 minutes in my house....)

buildersdaughter

'Corked' is a technical term used in the 'wine world' to mean that the cork has 'gone bad' and consequently ruined the wine. I have once tasted a 'corked' wine and it was truly awful - like a mouldy drain! That's why some winemakers like to use plastic corks now.
If you seal the port it will keep for ages - and you can keep it in the fridge if you're using it in cooking and not for baking. Just sniff it before you use it, and be careful of the 'dregs'.

kah22

Better safe than sorry. I bought a small bottle today and all I needed was 3 Tbs, I’ll just find another recipe or two and maybe some sauces to use up the remainder

Kevin

buildersdaughter

You can always make sauce, and freeze that. I have also used a mix of port and stock in place of wine in some recipes - but you do have to be careful as it can be sweet.
Cumberland sauce traditionally uses port, and when I looked it up, I see that the BBC also has a cranberry sauce based on it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/cumberland_sauce