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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.