276636 Sat Feb 19 01:30:05 -0800 2005 5 31 Home Cooking 0 1459939 I've been trying pan sauces that include deglazing the pan with some alcohol. This is kind of new for me. Recently I made a pasta sauce with pancetta that included deglazing with white wine, and for Valentine's Day I sauteed duck breasts and made a pan sauce that included deglazing with mirin and soy sauce. How come deglazing "cleans" the pan better than scrubbing? It's like magic...scraping the "browned bits" while the liquid is boiling lifts everything off the surface of the pan better than when I don't make a sauce and simply wash with warm water and liquid detergent and/or powdered cleansers like Bar Keepers Friend. Just curious, and hope this hasn't been covered recently because I'm too lazy tonight to search! Sat Feb 19 01:30:05 -0800 2005 0 Debbie W. 1 1459960 It's a combination of factors: the alcohol (if any), the heat (unless you commonly scrub pans with soap and boiling water), and the fact that the remaining morsels haven't had a chance to dry out before they get wet again. Sat Feb 19 08:43:23 -0800 2005 1459939 0 Wayne Keyser 2 1460051 Agreed with the above... Also, try cooking with sherry...it is lovely and my current favorite! With mushrooms over polenta, with onions on steak...yum, yum!!! Christine Sun Feb 20 00:12:37 -0800 2005 1459960 0 Christine 3 1460054 Totally agree about dry sherry! I use it more often than any other liquid for deglazing--it is so versatile. Goes well w/ both European-American dishes as well as Asian cuisine. Works w/ chicken, pork, beef, some seafood. Perfect w/ mushrooms, spinach, other greens. Not as acerbic as white wine, not as overpowering and fruity as red. Get mine for about $5 at Trader Joe's and replenish it often. Sun Feb 20 01:41:50 -0800 2005 1460051 0 Carb Lover 4 1460185 Any particular brand of dry sherry at TJ's? There's a TJ's a few blocks from my house, normally walking distance (I should say swimming distance tonight). Thanks for the advice. Mon Feb 21 02:05:32 -0800 2005 1460054 0 Debbie W. 5 1460294 Too lazy to check my pantry, but believe the label says "palest dry sherry." It's for $4.99 in the wine section. If you don't see it, ask a clerk, since I sometimes have a hard time spotting it right away. Mon Feb 21 18:44:25 -0800 2005 1460185 0 Carb Lover