A type of fortified wine, sherry will last longer than regular wine after you open it, making it a useful flavor staple in the kitchen. Sherries range in style from dry to creamy to syrupy sweet, but used properly, sherry can replace white wine in a recipe at a comparable price. True sherry comes only from the Jerez region of southern Spain and tastes vastly more refined than cheap imitations. Look for "Jerez-Xeres-Sherry" on the label to verify the authenticity of a bottle, suggests dummies.com.
Use a dry fino or manzanilla sherry to replace white wine in a soup, stew or saute recipe.
Replace a sweeter white wine with a medium or cream sherry in vegetable side dishes and desserts.
Substitute sherry for white wine one-to-one in any recipe with flavors that would accommodate or benefit from the distinctive flavor. Dry sherry typically displays nutty undertones while the sweetest sherries taste like raisins.
Tips
Cook with sherry you enjoy drinking. Heat concentrates the flavor of wine, so if it doesn't taste good in your glass, it won't taste good in your dish.