Category "boiling"

Scaling up water for cooking soup

I'm cooking soup as a starter for Christmas dinner. I've made this soup before and I used 1.5 litres of water for 4 servings. I'm making 12 servings for Christm

Residue from boiling pork sausage

When boiling sausage, I notice a gray, foamy residue that floats on top of the water. I was told that this is unhealthy to eat and should be removed. Is this t

Why should one boil water over medium-high heat for pasta?

I have encountered a pasta recipe with this as the first step: Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium-high heat. What is the purpose of using med

Technique for peeling boiled potatoes

This recipe calls for boiling Yukon gold potatoes with their skins on, then peeling them. I don't really know why, I just decided to follow it. I find that I a

Boiling potatoes with vs. without skin

It seems I got me thinking ... When boiling potatoes in water or a steamer, what, if any, is the effect of peeling the potatoes before vs. after the cooking pr

Why does oil transfer heat to food more gradually than water?

While working on the homework for week 2 of Harvardx's Edx course, SPU27x Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science, I came across this q

Triple cooked chips: Removing moisture by cooling

Triple cooked chips (French fries) are made by: Boiling the chips, then cooling them in the fridge/freezer to remove moisture Deep frying at a low(ish) tempera

Is there a principle for when to use a bain marie or when to steam?

Both bain marie and steaming are indirect methods of cooking but are they interchangable or are there cases where one should or shouldn't be used? It seems that

How can I cook an egg to win at egg tapping?

Easter is coming up, and I was wondering how I should prepare eggs to be as strong as possible for a game of egg tapping? The egg should still look and feel li

Do liquids continue to "boil" when full-pressure cooking is reached?

Liquids in a pressure cooker can reach higher temperatures because the boiling point increase as the internal pressure rises. But do those liquids continue th

How much time does it take to boil salmon?

Most recipes for salmon soup say that you cook it in just 5-10 minutes. If that were beef or pork, I would boil it for hours. Then why do they say such a short

What happens when I boil 2 pots of pasta in the same water back to back?

I had to make 2 pots of pasta back to back. I did a pot of spaghetti as usual. I add a little vegetable oil always, salt, and I throw about 5 peppercorn seeds i

Half Boiling and Freezing meat

When I BBQ meat sometimes meat does not cook completely and evenly. So I came up with an idea why not half boil meat (Chicken, Beef etc), put on my marination a

How can I keep tomatillos submerged in water during boiling?

I like making enchiladas verdes, but I have an annoying time keeping tomatillos submerged when I boil them. The top part of them remain out of surface. I try

Why boiling burns food once water evaporates but sauteing doesn't?

Suppose I cook a curry and add oil and water at the beginning, if during cooking all the pots water evaporates the food burns. when I saute same meal without ad

Is using a frying pan to boil water for pasta a good or a bad idea?

I just found out how my girlfriend makes pasta: She uses a (non-stick) frying pan to boil the water. I told her she should use a cooking pan. When she asked why

Can you boil spinach with less water?

I usually boil spinach in quite a bit of water. The spinach becomes tiny upon boiling leaving quite a bit of water with nutrients in it. What is the least amo

How to know if water has evaporated from curry/stew?

I am trying to get a curry to be thick and less watery. At the moment I am removing solids, boiling water off and then adding solids back in later. Unfortunat

Is there a difference in gnocchi between baking, steaming, or boiling potatoes?

I’m looking to make gnocchi. Lydia Bastianich says in her cookbook that we should boil the potatoes. Bryan Talbot says that we should bake them with a lit

What is the difference bewteen stewing and boiling?

I've read different definitions for what stewing is. I've read that it means to cook at a simmer(i.e. below a boil) but I've also read it means to cook in wate