Mississippi Criminal and Family Law BlogFood Cooked in Alcohol Can Land You in Trouble
You enjoy eating meals with wine reductions and desserts soaked in rum. You like to try anything with alcohol, but you always believed that when cooked and eaten in food, alcohol was no longer a concern. The truth is much more complicated. Foods that are mixed with alcohol may end up with an alcohol content, but they may also retain enough alcohol that you could become legally under the influence after a few servings. Let’s say hypothetically that you went out to eat with friends and made sure you didn’t drink, because you had to be the one to drive home sober. Not long after you started your drive home, you noticed that you weren’t feeling quite right. Shortly thereafter, a police officer pulled you over to the side of the road. He asked you to complete a Breathalyzer test and you agreed, because you knew you hadn’t had anything to drink that evening. To your surprise, you were shocked when the results came back indicting that your blood alcohol content (BAC) was over .08 percent. Interestingly, you can get legally intoxicated from eating food made with alcohol.
Don’t fall for the myth of food-based alcohol sobriety
If you intend to eat something with alcohol in its ingredients, don’t assume that alcohol won’t affect you. Foods cooked in alcohol have the potential to make you legally impaired, because alcohol in th body from food sources is still alcohol. Shrimp scampi, medallions in wine sauce, beer cheese soup, and chicken marsala are just a few of the common food items that are cooked with alcohol being one of the main ingredients. There is some truth to the statement that alcohol burns off during cooking. Yes, some alcohol does evaporate and burn off during the cooking process; however, It’s probably a less amount than you think.
If you eat a meal with an empty stomach to start with, your body absorbs as much as possible from the food when you do finally eat. If you eat a meal that has an alcohol reduction, there’s likely to be up to 85 percent of the alcohol content remaining. For instance, if you have a flambeed meat, the alcohol is added to the boiling pot before the pot is removed from heat. There’s no real cooking time, so very little alcohol dissipates.
Another thing to consider is how long the food cooks. If you cook a meal for 30 minutes, you’re likely to still have a high percentage of the alcohol left that you originally added to the food. That’s not a lot if the alcohol itself is of a low proof, but a higher proof could leave you feeling woozy after you eat it. And of course, if you drink any wine or beer with the alcohol-infused food, it all adds up even more at the end of the meal.
Always Be Conscience of What You Eat
Not watching how alcohol in food affects you could catch you off guard. It’s possible to end up with a DUI charge if you get behind the wheel after eating foods cooked in alcohol. Always be mindful of the food that you are eating at a party so that you don’t end up in a situation that could cause you to receive a DUI citation.
Enlist the Help of a Qualified DUI Attorney
When you are searching the state of Mississippi for a qualified, experienced DUI defense attorney, look no further than Vic Carmody Jr., P.A. No matter the circumstances of your case, the sooner you get in touch with a qualified DUI defense attorney, the better chance you have for a favorable outcome. Over the years, we have helped countless defendants who have been charged with DUI’s. Please call us for a free consultation today, and we can help you defend yourself when you are arrested and charged with a DUI in Mississippi.
Please also see us on mississippi-lawyers.com and view our reviews on avvo.com, superlawyers.com, and martindale.com. Our email address is vic@mississippi-lawyers.com, and our office phone number is (601) 948 – 4444 option 1.