Kitchen helper: No white wine? Use these alternatives in your cooking
We’ve all had the experience of being halfway through cooking a recipe and realising you’re missing an essential ingredient. If that ingredient is white wine, here are a few alternatives which will work just as well.
1. Stock
Chicken or vegetable stock is a great substitute for wine, as it provides the required liquid volume as well as depth of flavour. Use it as a direct swap, so if a recipe asks for a cup of white wine, use a cup of stock.
2. Vinegar
Wine is often needed to add acidity to a dish. This is where a diluted vinegar solution will save the day. Choose a mild vinegar, such as white wine vinegar, rather than distilled white vinegar, which will add too much acidity. Dilute the vinegar 50-50 with water. So if a recipe calls for a cup of white wine, add half a cup of white wine vinegar diluted with half a cup of water.
3. Lemon juice
Similar to vinegar, lemon juice will give a dish the required acidity but be careful of the concentration – a dilution of a quarter lemon juice and three quarters water should be used if swapping wine for lemon juice.
4. Verjuice
Verjuice is a great pantry staple to have on hand. Verjuice is made from the juice of unripe grapes. It’s a gentle acidulant that can be substituted for wine if lemon juice or vinegar may be too acidic for your dish. Use as a 1:1 substitute. We love Maggie Beer’s Verjuice, available in most Hill Street stores.
