By Emma Specter

With Hanukkah already here and Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to truly buckle down and start making our lists, checking them twice, et cetera. As a holiday person, nothing brings me more joy than trying to find the perfect gifts for my loved ones. But there is one group (or rather, gender) that’s always stumped me in my present-picking: men.

I abhor gender essentialism as much as the next normal person, but unfortunately, it really has been my experience that men are hard to shop for (and of course, women be shopping). Somehow 99% of the women and nonbinary people in my life are a delight to purchase gifts for, while the men—cis and trans alike—remain a cipher. As a queer woman, I’m not used to spending much of my time trying to figure out what men want—and yet, every Chrismukkah I find myself pondering the same question: How do I captivate the whimsy of the men in my life without going bankrupt?

I was thrilled when I discovered whiskey stones, which seemed like the obvious solution. For years, every men’s magazine and website seemed to tout them as the ne plus ultra of gifts for men—modern and innovative yet macho-retro enough to make them feel like Hemingway. Imagine my disappointment then, when I learned that men don’t actually want whiskey stones. Actually, it’s possible that nobody does, regardless of their gender, as New Yorker writer Helen Rosner demonstrated in her 2019 gift guide: “I took a sip, frowned, waited five minutes, and sipped again. The tequila remained room temperature. I recalled the laws of thermodynamics, and realized the truth about whiskey stones: Despite their striking geometry, they are entirely pointless. I frowned again, and drank my glass of room-temperature tequila, which had rocks in it.”

Perplexed, I sought advice from the trusted men in my life – among them were my father, my partner (who wished to be known as a “transmasculine king”), and several friends who entertained my frantic “What do you want for Christmas?” queries – to tell me whether they even desired whiskey stones and if not, the gifts they truly coveted for Christmas. Here are their responses:

“What on earth is a whiskey stone?”

Actual wished gift: “I don’t want anything.”

“My favorite drink is a martini, though I do savor a whiskey with a well-chosen ice cube occasionally. However, I think I would misplace the whiskey stones somewhere in my home.”

Actually desired gift: Prada loafers

“I get the idea of whiskey stones, so as not to dilute the taste of what I’m drinking, but the name alone makes me think more of passing stones than using them to marginally improve my enjoyment of brown liquor. So no, I don’t need them.” 

Actually desired gift: Those Instagram-friendly tennis candles

“Admittedly not a big whiskey guy, but I have to say this would disappoint me as a gift. Whiskey stones have always felt like a comically gendered ‘safe’ thing.” 

Preferred gift option: “A spa day or a massage would be far more appealing than items that amplify my sophisticated drinking habits.”

“Purchasing these would most likely result in me causing some damage with them, and then consuming whiskey with an absence of the stones to assuage my remorse.”

Preferred gift option: Tickets for a Kylie Minogue concert in Vegas

Consequently, it appears the decision is unanimous: Men are not fond of whiskey stones, for various legitimate reasons. What will I find out next? That women don’t actually desire luxurious hand creams in their Christmas stockings? (Well, too bad, because I have acquired a surplus of high-quality hand cream and I intend to persistently recommend it to everyone, regardless of their gender. Happy holidays!)

A rum cake is a delightful, easy addition to any festive table. The sponge, spiked with rum, is baked in a Bundt pan and drizzled then brushed with a syrup also containing rum. This results in a cake so moist and rich that it requires neither glaze nor frosting. Enjoy it with a cup of coffee or as a perfect end to a celebration day. However, if you’re avoiding alcohol, ignore claims that all alcohol evaporates during the baking process. Spoiler — it doesn’t.

Alcohol usually acts as a carrier for the flavor a certain recipe requires, be it a delicious rum cake or a red wine sauce for steak. It also enhances the taste of other ingredients, like in a penne alla vodka, where vodka brings out the flavor of the tomatoes and tenderizes the meat. Alcohol is such a versatile ingredient with plenty of applications, but keep in mind, although a large portion of the alcohol does cook off, it’s never 100% gone.

Read more: 10 Of The Healthiest Beers You Can Drink

When cooking with booze, it’s impossible to fully evaporate all the alcohol from a dish or dessert. The remaining alcohol in the final product depends on several factors, primarily temperature and cooking duration, as well as your cooking dish’s surface area. Alcohol evaporates quicker at high temperatures, and more cooks off the longer the dish bakes. However, alcohol molecules will always bond with other molecules in the dish and stay put. Studies have shown even after prolonged cooking, a little alcohol will always remain in the dish.

It’s crucial to take into account the size of your cooking vessel when preparing rum cake. A larger pan or skillet provides greater surface area, thereby facilitating more oxygen contact, which leads to faster alcohol evaporation. You should consider the kind of ingredients used and what specific dish you are preparing. For instance, a rum syrup drizzle used to garnish a rum cake probably hasn’t been cooked long enough, or at the right temperatures, to evaporate significant alcohol amounts. On the contrary, the cake itself usually contains between half to a full cup of rum, which results in a cake that has roughly 5% alcohol content- equivalent to a bottle of beer!

While not all dishes may contain as much alcohol as rum cake, there could be several reasons for omitting alcohol from your dishes, including health, recovery, or religious reasons. But this doesn’t mean you should feel excluded from scrumptious boozy bakes. There exists plenty of ways to replace alcohol in a recipe that demands it, with the focus being on the flavor, rather than the alcohol. Endless options of achieving similar flavors without using alcohol abound, such as using various types of vinegars, herbs, spices, and syrups. Cooking and baking ingredient swaps can be an excellent way to achieve this.

To create a rum cake, consider using rum extracts and rum-flavored syrups or a blend of ingredients like white grape juice, molasses, and almond extract. Another option is seeking out non-alcoholic rum. You can find an array of non-alcoholic spirits that can replace their alcoholic equivalents. So go ahead, make your next rum cake alcohol-free, and don’t worry about the alcohol content in your future bakes.

For more, check out the original article on Daily Meal.

A rum cake is an easy, festive addition to any holiday table. The rum-spiked sponge is baked in a Bundt pan, and drizzled and brushed with a rum syrup. The result is a cake that’s so moist and rich that it doesn’t need a glaze or frosting. It goes perfectly with a cup of coffee, or to top off a day of celebrations. However, if you’re abstaining from alcohol, don’t believe people when they tell you all the alcohol bakes off during the cooking process. Spoiler alert — it doesn’t.

Typically, alcohol is merely a carrier for the flavor a particular recipe calls for, whether it’s a scrumptious rum cake or a red wine sauce for your steak. Alcohol also enhances the flavors of other ingredients, like in a penne alla vodka where the vodka makes the tomato stand out and tenderizes meat. It’s a versatile ingredient, and there are plenty of reasons to use it, but you should remember that while a significant amount of the alcohol does cook off, it’s never 100% gone.

Read more: 10 Of The Healthiest Beers You Can Drink

When cooking with booze, it’s impossible to cook or bake all the alcohol out of a dish or dessert, but how much remains in the final presentation depends on a few things, namely temperature and length of time spent cooking, as well as the surface area of your cooking dish. Alcohol evaporates faster at higher temperatures, and more alcohol cooks off the longer something bakes. No matter what, though, alcohol molecules will stick to molecules of other things in the dish and stay put. It has been shown that even cooking dishes for hours still leaves a small percentage of alcohol remaining in the dish.

Furthermore, it’s valuable to take into account your cooking vessel’s size when creating rum cake. The bigger the surface area, the more interaction with oxygen the dish gets, this makes the alcohol evaporate quicker in a larger pan or skillet. It’s also necessary to think about the ingredients you’re using and the dish you’re preparing. A rum syrup drizzle that tops off your rum cake probably won’t have cooked enough (or at the right temperature) to evaporate much alcohol. The cake itself, however, usually contains anywhere from a half to a full cup of rum, yielding a baked cake with around 5% alcohol (equivalent to a beer!).

Even though other dishes may not be as alcohol-rich as rum cake, there could be several reasons why you might want to substitute the alcohol in any dish you prepare. It could be due to health concerns, recovery, or religious beliefs, but you shouldn’t feel excluded from the world of alcohol-infused bakes. Many methods are available to substitute the alcohol in rum cake and other dishes that require alcohol, because it is the flavor that matters – the alcohol merely serves as the carrier. A variety of cooking and baking ingredient swaps provide similar flavors without the use of alcohol. These substitutes include different kinds of vinegars, herbs, spices, and syrups.

You can create a rum cake with rum extracts or rum-flavored syrups, or by using a mix of ingredients such as white grape juice, molasses, and almond extract. Alternatively, you can find non-alcoholic rum. A host of non-alcoholic spirits can replace their alcoholic equivalents so, make your next rum cake alcohol-free, and stop worrying about the alcohol content in your next baked product.

Read the original article on Daily Meal.

You may have seen the news about Frey Ranch Distillery’s debut American Single Malt Smoked Whiskey. Single malt whiskey is something of a novelty in the American whiskey scene and we were curious about why the distillery chose that route. To find out more, we talked to Colby Frey, Whiskey Farmer and co-founder of Frey Ranch Distillery.

“Kentucky Bourbon has been the darling of the American Whiskey category for years,” Frey told us. “And rightfully so, but distillers are experimenting more than ever and the grains they distill are central to that conversation and what’s pushing the category in new and exciting directions. Additionally, the American palate is expanding — and with greater access to more international whiskies — it makes sense that American distillers are looking to capitalize on those trends.” One particularly popular international version is Scottish whisky, which is known for using a single malt mash bill.

But it isn’t just marketing and hype. The craft whiskey boom is fueling a lot of experimentation with new and higher-quality products. As Frey put it, “I think people are pushing the envelope and experimenting with other types of grain to differentiate themselves in a crowded category. Craft distilleries, in particular, are willing to push the envelope vs. the traditional large distilleries who are more married to their traditional processes… The flavor profiles you can create with malted grains really opens up a world of options — and gets consumers excited.”

Read more: The 40 Absolute Best Cocktails That Feature Only 2 Ingredients

Although we can’t know for certain what the American take on single malts will look like, we can take some educated guesses. The first thing to keep in mind is that the idea of single malt is closely connected to Scottish whisky. Traditionally, a good portion of scotch was smoked with peat. Peat is a dense layer of organic material that sits in the upper layer of marshes and bogs. It’s a nonrenewable resource since it takes thousands of years to build up, meaning it will one day run out. Scotland has plans to eventually end the sale of peat to reduce the environmental impact and cut down on pollution, which will undoubtedly impact how scotch is made. America doesn’t have quite the same abundance of peat, but that didn’t stop Frey Ranch from smoking their single malt. Frey Ranch MacGyvered an old silo into a DIY smoker and used the organic debris from their farm to make a peat alternative. That’s American ingenuity for you.

Another difference that may seem inconsequential but which will have a huge impact on the product is climate. Scotland is cold and humid, while much of the United States is dry and hot (relatively speaking). When scotch is aged in the barrel, the humidity causes the alcohol to evaporate faster than the water, resulting in a lower-proof whiskey. With Americans’ love for high-proof whiskeys, American single malts may evolve to become a high-proof alternative to low-proof scotch.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.

Rich, warming, and comforting, digging into a bowl of classic penne alla vodka is an especially cozy dinner option during the colder months. Aside from the booze in question, vodka sauce is essentially a pink sauce, meaning it contains both tomatoes and cream. But what separates this type from other pasta dishes is — of course — the alcohol, which intensifies the flavor of the other ingredients, creates a delicious aroma, and helps the tomatoes and cream blend together.

So with all these delicious qualities, why limit your vodka sauce usage to noodles? Another dish that will benefit just as much from this tasty topping is arguably the next-most popular meal where tomato sauce is used: pizza. Sure, pies with traditional tomato sauce are delicious, but this upgraded version will bring a cozy layer of creaminess. Plus, all the other ingredients in vodka sauce will give your pizza some additional flavor: diced onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. By making this sauce the star of the show, you won’t need many other ingredients to turn your pie into a tasty, next-level comfort food.

Read more: 44 Types Of Pasta And When You Should Be Using Them

Like we mentioned, pizza alla vodka doesn’t need much dressing up, so feel free to keep your toppings simple here. Mozzarella and basil are surefire winners, but stay away from covering the entire surface of the pizza with shredded cheese. Because this sauce is richer and creamier than most from the included cream and butter, smothering it with mozzarella may result in an overly greasy pie. Instead, dot your pizza with pieces of a ripped-apart mozzarella ball that have been patted dry with a paper towel, which will allow the sauce to shine through and remain the star of the show. In the same vein, you’ll want to use a little less sauce than you would with marinara to avoid an overly wet pizza — and to prevent excess liquid even more, strain your crushed tomatoes before you cook them with your vodka.

However, feel free to sprinkle on some parmesan once your dish emerges from the oven. And if you do want a little more substance on your pizza, sprinkle on sliced mushrooms, olives, or pepperoni, keeping in mind that the latter will add some extra oil. You can even add cooked penne noodles right into your vodka sauce before spooning the whole thing on your pie, if you want the best of both worlds. But whether you go light or heavy with your toppings, pizza alla vodka will give your classic pie a deliciously rich twist.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.