How Long Does Sherry Last? Does Sherry Cooking Wine Go Bad?
If you have questions about cooking sherry, then this post is for you! We’ll go over how long it lasts, how to store it and if it can go bad below.
Read on down to learn more about sherry!
How Long Does Sherry Last?
Sherry can normally last from one to four years in a sealed bottle. Meanwhile, how long does Sherry last once opened? It is around one week if you store it in the fridge or a cool and dry area. Cream Sherry will last longer for up to three weeks in the fridge!
The higher the percentage of alcohol in Sherry, the longer it can last. If you intend to store a sherry bottle, consider its alcohol level.
Sherry is highly praised as a well-known fortified wine from Spain. Strong liquor combines with lots of sugar to make Sherry, which contributes greatly to its long-term usage. Sherry is produced from white grapes, making it available in many versions, from light to heavy with 15 to 17 percent alcohol.
This wine is quite popular in cooking, including many savory dishes and even desserts. As such, it is a must to know the shelf life of Sherry if you want to store it properly.
Any fortified wine has a special version for cooking, and Sherry is not an exception. Yet, an expired Sherry loses their aroma and flavors and will affect your food.
Make sure to seal the opened cooking Sherry bottle tightly with a cork and keep it in the refrigerator. A cooking Sherry is likely to have a longer life than an original version. You can utilize an opened bottle in a few months to one year.
If you have not unpacked its bottle and always kept it away from sources of heat and sunlight, it will stay in good quality in your fridge for a long time!
Still not assured? Let’s see the best-before date on the label of a Sherry bottle to know if it is a long-lasting wine or not. However, for those with fine contents, you can still use them for cooking purposes even after the expiration date!
How To Tell If Sherry Is Bad?
Does Sherry wine go bad, and how to tell? Absolutely yes, Sherry can go bad no matter how high alcohol and sugar content it has. When you notice there might be a corking bit floating in the drink, or it smells like cardboard, it means that your Sherry has spoiled.
Sherry will keep losing flavor compounds and become bland as long as you keep its bottle opened. A Sherry is only suitable for cooking, instead of drinking at that time.
This wine changes rapidly in chemical composition after opening due to a high content of alcohol. This oxidation process will either increase more flavors for your wine in a highly controlled manner or damage its quality if the exposure continues.
How To Store Sherry
The method of storing Sherry is similar to storing any other wine. Does Sherry need to be refrigerated? How to store Sherry wine after opening?
A cool, dry, and dark place without any temperature changing is the best condition to maintain the good quality of an unpacked bottle of Sherry. Besides, it will be best if you keep the bottle upright!
Regarding the opened bottle, you have to seal it tightly before putting it in the fridge. For example, you can utilize the old cork or a bottle stopper. If the old container cannot work well anymore, pour the drink into a decanter.
Recipes using Sherry
Here are several Sherry recipes anyone can try to cook:
- French onion soup: Sherry helps to bring a sweet flavor and a great color to your dishes.
- Sautéed chicken: It’s the delicious pan sauce from Sherry that makes this dish a restaurant-quality food.
- Sticky chicken wings: Use soy sauce, Sherry, and ginger to make a sauce for cooking salty and sweet wings.
- Tend short ribs: You can make a savory liquid of Sherry to braise short ribs.
- Mushroom ravioli with the side dishes of peas sautéed in Sherry is no doubt the best dish ever.
