Inexperienced cook

[mayerling]

Two days ago, I made a dish that required some dry white wine. I bought the kind that has the cork, removed the cork, used as much as I needed, and left the corkless bottle sitting on the counter. Tomorrow, I need to make that dish again. Can I use the remaining wine or will it have gone bad by now?

 

[decodelighted]

Did you taste the wine before? If so, taste it again now & compare. Exposure to air does affect the flavor of wine but I don't think it turns toxic or anything within two days. It might be a tad more vinegary?

If you do decide to use it, I'd strain it first in case a fruit fly got in there & drowned. If you find a fruit fly - well that's up to you!

 

[Snicklefritz]

I agree with Deco's advice. Assuming it hasn't been contaminated and doesn't taste too off, I'd still use it.

 

[tuffyluvr]

I think you'll have to smell and taste it. I'd say it's probably fine for cooking with, but wine itself and the climate are really the determining factors. If the wine tastes sour/vinegar-y, don't use it. Rule of thumb is "don't cook with wine you wouldn't drink"! Good luck!

 

[Octavia]

Good advice from the others. Also, next time just stuff the cork back in the bottle (easier if you flip it so the end that was facing down before now faces up -- just look at the cork and you can usually see which end is smaller and thus easier to slide into the bottle) and put it in the fridge. This will slow down the oxidation so the wine stays usable for longer. It won't taste quite as good as it did when fresh, but for cooking purposes I find it keeps fine for at least a week this way.

 

[Enerchi]

I am unfamiliar with the concept of A) - cooking in general and B) - left over wine???? I can't wrap my head around that....

So I went to my resident expert chef and he said the same thing as Tuffyluvr - if its not good enough to drink, its not good enough to cook with. I'd do a taste test and see how you react - vinegar is out, still mellow or fruity then you should be good to go.

 

[JulieN]

It will be fine unless there are bugs in it!

 

[minousbijoux]

I am unfamiliar with the concept of A) - cooking in general and B) - left over wine???? I can't wrap my head around that....

So I went to my resident expert chef and he said the same thing as Tuffyluvr - if its not good enough to drink, its not good enough to cook with. I'd do a taste test and see how you react - vinegar is out, still mellow or fruity then you should be good to go.

 

[Enerchi]

Minous - you make me laugh too!!!

So --- wonder what happened with that recipe? Was the second day just as good as the first time?

 

[mayerling]

Sorry I didn't update. In the end the problem disappeared when DH decided to just drink the left-over wine and I ended up having to buy a new bottle to make the dish. I don't drink so tasting it to find out whether it had gone off was not an option.