Should You Cook Your Pasta Sauce with a Wine Cork?

Recently the aspiring chef, Brooklyn Beckham, raised some eyebrows when fans noticed a wine cork floating above the pasta sauce he was cooking in a photo he shared on Instagram.

It seems bizarre but cooking with wine corks is not unheard of! In an attempt to defend his choice, Beckham shared an excerpt from an article in Naples Daily News by food writer Doris Reynolds that says the wine corks "ensured a more tender dish." According to the article, the effectiveness of wine corks in aiding meats to cook well in stews and broths is backed by research. Although some experts disagree on the use of corks, chefs and people well-versed in cooking octopus and squid insist that corks contain enzymes that improve the food.

Wine corks have been used in cooking for quite some time and can mainly be found in Italian octopus recipes.

However, according to an article by Westword, Cook Street School of Culinary Arts' executive chef instructor John Parks doesn't believe in a wine cork's magical culinary powers - "Honestly, I think the cork is a myth," he told Westword.

Food columnist and former apprentice chef Andrew Coppolino did his own experiment to test out the cork theory and found the corks did little to tenderize the squids he cooked. "Drink the wine while you're cooking your squid and toss the cork to recycling," he wrote in his blog.

So, does a wine cork in your sauce really tenderize the meat? It looks like you're going to have to try and test it out for yourself for a definitive answer!