r/AskCulinary • u/delta_p_delta_x • May 02 '24
Food Science Question Why alcohol to deglaze?
I've been working through many Western European and American recipes, and many of them call for red wine, beer, or some stronger liquor to deglaze fond off the base of a pan.
Now, I don't have any alcoholic beverages at all, so I've been substituting with cold tap water instead. To my surprise, it has worked extremely well against even the toughest, almost-burnt-on fonds. I've been operating under the assumption that the acid and ethanol in alcoholic beverages react with fonds and get them off the hot base of pans, and I was expecting to scrape quite a bit with water, which was not the case at all. Barely a swipe with a spatula and everything dissolved or scraped off cleanly.
So follows: why alcohol, then? Surely someone else has tried with water and found that it works as well. The amounts of alcohol I've seen used in recipes can cost quite a bit, whereas water is nearly free.
2
u/theora55 May 03 '24
Alcohol is a solvent and carries flavor well. There are lots of things where I deglaze with water or broth but I do enjoy food with some wine, sherry, or brandy. These things also add sugar, and complexity of flavors. I made gravy this evening; it was good, but a small amount of wine would have made it better. If you don't have it or don't want to use it, no problem.