# ISO spoon for burning alcohol



## icor1031 (Aug 19, 2014)

Is there some kind of spoon/dipper that I can use for burning the alcohol out of vanilla extract, etc. - which won't spill the extract when I set it down?

Holding onto the spoon until the flame goes out is a lengthy and boring process.


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## CraigC (Aug 19, 2014)

icor1031 said:


> Is there some kind of spoon/dipper that I can use for burning the alcohol out of vanilla extract, etc. - which won't spill the extract when I set it down?
> 
> Holding onto the spoon until the flame goes out is a lengthy and boring process.



Why would you want to?


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## jennyema (Aug 19, 2014)

Also not sure why you'd want to.

But you cant burn it out in any event.  It never totally evaporates.

Sounds like you are flaming it.  That only burns off a small amount.  75% of the alcohol will be left when the flame goes out.


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## Janet H (Aug 19, 2014)

My local health food store sells alcohol free vanilla - might be worth looking for some in your area...


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## Dawgluver (Aug 19, 2014)

Or maybe just use a vanilla bean.  You can scrape the seeds into whatever you're making and throw the rest of the pod in.  Then fish the pod out when you're done cooking it.


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## icor1031 (Aug 19, 2014)

Janet H said:


> My local health food store sells alcohol free vanilla - might be worth looking for some in your area...





Dawgluver said:


> Or maybe just use a vanilla bean.  You can scrape the seeds into whatever you're making and throw the rest of the pod in.  Then fish the pod out when you're done cooking it.




Thanks!




jennyema said:


> Also not sure why you'd want to.
> 
> But you cant burn it out in any event.  It never totally evaporates.
> 
> Sounds like you are flaming it.  That only burns off a small amount.   75% of the alcohol will be left when the flame goes out.




Ah, that's a lot remaining. Yes, flaming.
And I wanted to do that, because once I put vanilla extract in my banana pudding and I think it tasted like alcohol - it didn't go away.


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## FrankZ (Aug 20, 2014)

icor1031 said:


> Thanks!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I find, for me, the "tastes like alcohol" is either I used too much or I used inferior (imitation) vanilla extract.


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## nerfdom (Aug 31, 2014)

Theoretically, awakening the nerd in me, channeling high-school chemistry here, since ethyl alcohol has a much lower boiling point than water, if you were to thoroughly incorporate the vanilla extract into another liquid ingredient that is tolerant to heating, and then heat the liquid ingredient to a boil, what will happen:

 #1. The mixture will heat up to the boiling temperature of the alcohol, and remain there until the alcohol has boiled off.
#2. The mixture will then begin heating again until it reaches the boiling temperature of water.

Because we're talking a small total amount of alcohol, the boiling plateau of the alcohol will be relatively short, but if you can spot the two different boiling plateaus happening, you can know with 100% certainty that the alcohol will be gone when the second boiling plateau is reached. You can cheat by using a thermometer.


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## Hoot (Sep 1, 2014)

I seem to recall reading somewhere....I will have to look around, that the only way to be 100% sure that all of the alcohol is gone is to boil all of the liquid away. Alcohol is quite stubborn and persistent once introduced into a recipe.


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Sep 1, 2014)

You can buy alcohol-free vanilla extracts of varying types and strengths.


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## taxlady (Sep 1, 2014)

Actually, alcohol and water makes an azetrope, so you can't boil away all the alcohol. "... an ethanol-water mixture (obtained by fermentation of sugars) on  fractional distillation gives a solution containing approximately 95% by  volume of ethanol." from Ethanol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Bigjim68 (Sep 1, 2014)

icor1031 said:


> Is there some kind of spoon/dipper that I can use for burning the alcohol out of vanilla extract, etc. - which won't spill the extract when I set it down?
> 
> Holding onto the spoon until the flame goes out is a lengthy and boring process.



You  can flambe the liquid in pretty much anything.  A measuring cup or even a shot glass.  For safety's sake, I would set the cup in a larger container.


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## Oldvine (Sep 1, 2014)

I must be using different vanilla extract.  I can't remember ever tasting the alcohol that might be a couple teaspoons of vanilla used in any recipe that might have included the extract.


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