Are Sweet and Dry Marsala Interchangeable? | Cook's Illustrated (2024)

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Are Sweet and Dry Marsala Interchangeable? | Cook's Illustrated? ›

Though both were acceptable, tasters found that dry Marsala

Should you use sweet or dry Marsala in your Chicken Marsala recipe? It doesn't make a huge difference, and either option will produce delicious results, but I would go for dry because the sweet Marsala has a bit too much sugar for such a savory dish.

Dry Marsala is actually mildly sweet, and sweet Marsala is, well, sweet. Dry Marsala isn't really dry, it's just lightly sweet. Sweet Marsala is very sweet, but good examples have a balancing acidity.

Use dry marsala rather than sweet marsala which is more commonly used in desserts. Sub with port wine, sherry, or madeira. For non alcoholic version, better to make Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce! 4.

There are three styles of Marsala: oro, ambra and rubino. There are also five aging designations: fine (aged at least one year), superiore (two), superiore riserva (four), vergine (five) and vergine stravecchio (ten or more years).

Though both were acceptable, tasters found that dry Marsala offered more depth of flavor, while sweet Marsala added sweetness and some flavor but wasn't as complex. The takeaway? For both savory and sweet applications, we suggest using dry Marsala if a recipe doesn't specify a style.

So, bottom line – yes, you can (and you should!) drink marsala, whether on its own an aperitif or stirred into a co*cktail.

High-quality Marsalas, like those labeled “Superiore Riserva” (aged for at least four years), can potentially hold their own for a decade or even longer. Opened Marsala Wine: Once you uncork that bottle of Marsala, the clock starts ticking a bit faster.

3.0Use it all the time for making chicken marsala.

If you're preparing a sweeter dish, she suggests reaching for sherry, Moscato, or Port as an easy swap. You could even try a potent dry red tossed in with a bit of sugar and an orange peel as a comparable substitute.

Is Holland House Marsala cooking wine dry or sweet? ›

Made from specially selected grapes, Holland House Marsala Cooking Wine has a dried fruit and caramel flavor and sweet aroma.

While both chicken piccata and chicken Marsala are cooked in the same way, there are a few key differences between the two dishes. Chicken piccata isn't creamy. It's cooked with white wine, chicken broth, capers, and lemon juice. It's tangy and bright instead of rich and creamy.

If you intend to bake with it, the dolce (sweet) is generally recommended, while the secco (dry) is best for savory cooking. Either makes for a successful dessert or cheese pairing. For an all-purpose option, you may want to go with a semisecco (semi-dry).

Though not as flavorful as Marsala wine, sherry makes a good one-to-one substitute. To get the most flavor in your dish, use the drinking sherry and not the cooking sherry. Dry sherry is significantly lower in sodium than Marsala cooking wine.

Marsala tends to have a nutty, brown sugar flavor with notes of dried fruit and can be lightly sweet (dry) to very sweet. Because it is fortified with brandy, it is higher in alcohol than most wine, especially when aged for a long period of time.

Marsala wine is split up into different styles based on the type of grapes used (white or mostly red) and the winemaking method. You'll discover that most Marsala made for cooking is Fino or Fine Marsala which is actually the lowest quality level of the wine.

3.0Use it all the time for making chicken marsala. Also goes pretty well with homemade fudge brownies.

Using sweet Marsala lends a rich, nutty, almost caramelized flavor to mushroom sauces in dishes like chicken Marsala. Sweet Marsala can also be used in desserts, as with zabaglione, a classic custard sauce that's a fine match for fresh berries.