On The Subject of Alcohol In Cooking

Tiffany, a good soul from CA who graces us with her welcome input, left the following comment recently:

How do you know if a recipe is okay to serve to alcoholics or those who don't like the taste of alcohol? I see several recipes with alcohol in the ingredience, but I'm afraid to try them since sometimes you can still taste it in the food. I know that most of the alcohol burns off, but isn't there a negative association with even the taste of the alcohol to alcoholics?

Anyway, I was hoping you would know what I need to look for in a recipe to let me know if it is okay to use. :)

Something is amiss with our Comments area.  I've tried repeatedly to respond to Tiff, without success.  It may be because I have tried to include links.  Whatever the technical reason, I'd like to answer Tiffany here:

Tiffany, you raise more than one question. The most important, I think, is how alcoholics will react to food that is cooked with alcohol. This is a link to a site that discusses that question.

Another question you ask is about the taste, knowing that most of the alcohol itself burns off. Well, the taste is often (not always, as I'll address in the next paragraph) the point of adding alcohol...the taste will enhance the dish. If you don't like the taste, you won't like that particular recipe.

The final question is why use alcohol. There are chemical reasons, and this link will help address those. 

Thanks for asking these important questions. You've helped the rest of us understand the subject better.