Cooking Alcohol Burn-off Calculator

When alcohol is added during cooking, heat causes it to evaporate. Contrary to popular belief, not all of it burns off.
The amount remaining depends on the cooking method, cooking time, and whether the dish is covered.

Formula (USDA retention data): Alcohol Remaining (%) = Retention Factor × Initial Alcohol Content Alcohol Remaining (g) = Volume of Alcohol (ml) × ABV × 0.789 (density) × Retention Factor

USDA retention factors by cooking method and time. These are the exact figures the calculator uses, so a result here can always be traced back to a row:

The USDA’s own tables also list 70% retained for alcohol stirred in and stored overnight without heat. There is no option for that here because it is a storage case rather than a cooking method, but it is worth knowing that time alone barely touches it.

What each variable means:

• ABV: Alcohol By Volume, the percentage of alcohol in the beverage. Wine ≈ 12–14%, beer ≈ 4–6%, spirits ≈ 35–45%.
• 0.789: the density of ethanol in g/ml, used to convert volume to mass.
• Retention Factor: the fraction of original alcohol that survives the cooking process.

Worked example: You add ½ cup (118 ml) of red wine (13% ABV) to a pasta sauce, simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, and serve four people. Initial alcohol = 118 ml × 0.13 = 15.34 ml of ethanol After a 30-minute simmer, retention = 35% Remaining alcohol = 15.34 × 0.35 = 5.37 ml in the whole pot Per serving = 5.37 ÷ 4 = 1.34 ml, about 1.06 g of ethanol

A US standard drink is 14 g of ethanol, so that serving carries 0.076 of a drink. You would have to eat thirteen portions to match a single glass of wine.

Reference: wine alcohol in cooking Most recipes using wine as a flavor agent contain well under 1 g of alcohol per serving after cooking. That is negligible for most adults, but relevant for anyone avoiding alcohol entirely: recovering alcoholics, children, and certain medications. For zero-alcohol cooking, substitute grape juice, pomegranate juice, or dealcoholized wine.