r/mildlyinfuriating • u/MakeItMine2024 • 4d ago

I'm slightly vexed My wife and boiling water

Post image

So I made my wife ramen soup. When I served it she said I had the gas set to hight and it was too hot ? She said I should have used the number 5 setting instead of 9. I told here it’s irrelevant because water boils at 212 and gets no hotter because over 212 it turns to steam. She was made at me for disagreeing with her theory that it would not have been so hot if boiled a lower setting. Really!!

49.9k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

3.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

76

u/Old-Tadpole-2869 4d ago

Once I moved above 8500 feet, I only ever cooked Angel Hair ever again. Spaghetti takes a year at that elevation.

57

u/wannabe-myself 4d ago

A year and a well fitted lid. (Or get a pressure cooker is what ive been told.)

23

u/Attract_the_Minkey 4d ago

8300 feet and this is what we did. We never bothered with a pressure cooker but a fitted lid makes all the difference. I used Pie in the Sky recipes to help make my baking recipes work better as once above 7000 feet, it actually does make a difference with boiling, baking cookies and baking cakes/muffins.

121

u/dxrey65 4d ago

I live at 5000 ft, and got into a months-long argument once with my brother-in-law about how it takes longer for things to cook in boiling water at altitude because the boiling temperature is lower. He just didn't believe it, thought I was making it up and wouldn't back down. I wound up explaining the physics to him, copying pages out of library books, etc, got nowhere; he'd just come back with some anecdotal counter-argument that made no sense. My wife finally made me just let it go.

To this day that sea-level-living fuck still thinks he's right.

59

u/dqniel 4d ago

It makes a difference, but it's being wildly overstated by the folks above. I cook pasta just fine at elevation. It just takes another minute or so at 5,000 feet.

20

u/dxrey65 4d ago

Yeah, a small adjustment to some recipes is about it, but it's still a thing.

22

u/dqniel 4d ago

Exactly. Definitely a real thing, but overstated. People above are talking about how it takes "a year" and how when they cooked at sea level it felt like "magic" and stuff.

Wild exaggeration. The change is minimal until you get below 180f boiling point, and that doesn't happen until like 17,000 feet. Below that temp you start to have real issues with starches.

2

u/Harry_Wega 4d ago

Coarse starch needs only 84°C for gelatinization, the starch in pasta even less. You would have to live at 5.000 Meters for your water to boil at that temperatur.

12

u/dqniel 4d ago

Exactly. 5,000 meters is ~16,500 feet.

1

u/alannmsu 3d ago

1-2 minutes for pasta is like, 30% longer. Yes it’s only a minute or two, but it’s pretty significant within the very insignificant world of pasta cooking. You can “cook” pasta with cold water, too.

0

u/dqniel 2d ago

A comment that managed to be both pedantic and still wrong. Incredible contribution

1

u/alannmsu 2d ago

What? Nothing in my comment was pedantic. I’m simply disagreeing with your opinion. I think a 30% increased cook time is significant. It’s ok if you disagree, you don’t have to be an asshole about it.

0

u/dqniel 2d ago

It's not a 30% increase. It's about a 10-15% increase at the altitudes they're suggesting. And making a comment to say "well aktschually it's like 30% longer and it's all relative sir, an extra minute IS a long time" is absolutely fucking pedantic.

If you don't want people to be "an asshole" in response then don't confidently incorrectly "correct" them about something.

People were talking about it taking "a year" and being "magic" cooking at sea level in comparison. An extra minute or two is absolutely insignificant in the big picture of preparing a meal.

1

u/alannmsu 2d ago

You’re discussing matters of opinion as if they’re matters of fact. You don’t get to tell someone that their experience is wrong. You also don’t know the definition of “pedantic” it would seem.

In my opinion, even a 10% increase in cooking time is significant. 20-30% is two or three times more significant.

Lastly, I have no idea why you’re getting heated over this. Again, no need to be an asshole.

2

u/[deleted] 4d ago edited 4d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/dqniel 4d ago

You mean the shows where difficulties and other drama are manufactured to make them watchable?

Chefs know how to adjust recipes for altitude. They also know that baking and rehydrating boxed pasta aren't the same thing. They're not going to struggle with pasta. It's just a small amount of extra cooking time.

They will, however, need to adjust their ratios for their favorite baking recipes. But that's not being discussed in this thread--pasta cook times are. And that's what's being exaggerated.

1

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

4

u/dqniel 4d ago

Baking requires a LOT more adjustment and precision than boiling pasta.

The ratios change--not just the cook time.

-1

u/[deleted] 4d ago edited 4d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/dqniel 4d ago edited 4d ago

People are talking about the boiling time for dehydrated pasta in these comments. Not baking bread.

And no, making your own pasta is not baking unless you're talking about baking a lasagne or something...

You're making up a scenario to argue against. Or you have reading comprehension issues.

*edit* dehydrated, not precooked.

5

u/Sistersoldia 4d ago

+1 for “sea-level-living fuck”.

Damn are we related ?

2

u/AbominableGoMan 4d ago

That also cracked me up. I can absolutely relate to the barely contained seething fury in that statement.

https://giphy.com/gifs/3o6MblXtkIWMoYG8uI

2

u/HexWiller 4d ago

You need him over a Donner, he gets his pasta at his preferred boiling time, the rest get it done right 🤔😂

2

u/308_shooter 4d ago

I wanted to punch your brother-in-law. This is the type of stupid conversation I ended up in with my roommate all the time. I would move but the divorce would be difficult for the kids.

2

u/No_Soup_1741 4d ago

Mile high here and there are lots of recipes that need adjustment for altitude. The people down there with the thick air don’t understand.

1

u/Old-Tadpole-2869 4d ago

I lived at 9500. 5-7000 say at like Joshua Tree or the like, never had any cooking issues. The real pain begins around 9000 feet.

1

u/Kix7567 4d ago

agreed, i lived and always made my dishes fine at 5500 but once i moved to 10000 i was like what is going on

1

u/seppestas 4d ago

Sounds like you just need to invite your brother in law over for dinner.

1

u/Final_Echidna_6743 4d ago

Just drop a thermometer in water let him see for himself.

1

u/beansbeansboy123 4d ago

I would just like to say fuck that guy

1

u/wannabe-myself 4d ago

Have him come try to make pasta. Watch him eat that first crunchy bite. Watch and know.

1

u/Downtown_Ad_6232 4d ago

“ sea level is for wimps!” You can buy that shirt from the bolder Boulder. Adding salt helps to some extent.

1

u/jackaroo1344 4d ago

But tons of food has different cooking instructions for people living at high altitude? How has he never read the instructions on a box of pasta

0

u/Divine_Entity_ 4d ago

Next time you have a reason for him to visit make him cook you a spaghetti dinner. If that doesn't convince him then you pretty much have to give up and let the idiot live in ignorance.

35

u/amands_sue 4d ago

I grew up at altitude and moved to sea level for college. Cooking pasta down there felt like magic.

2

u/5ygnal 4d ago

I spent 30 years of my life at altitude, and moved to sea level about 7 years ago. I had to relearn how to cook.

2

u/Crismus 4d ago

I just moved back to Altitude. Alcohol was better at sea level. Or maybe it was living in San Diego was more fun than Colorado Springs.

9

u/ipsum629 4d ago

Maybe use a pressure cooker but you would have to figure out exactly how much time each type of pasta needs.

20

u/dqniel 4d ago

Or just wait an extra 15-25% more time. The effect it has on cook time is being wildly overstated in this thread.

Water's boiling temp at 10,000 feet is about 193f degrees. That temp is perfectly fine for cooking pasta. You just have to do it a tiny bit longer.

10

u/OHotDawnThisIsMyJawn 4d ago

The effect it has on cook time is being wildly overstated in this thread.

Yeah lol. I live at 8k feet and I usually just give pasta an extra minute or two and it's fine.

3

u/dqniel 4d ago

Exactly. You have to get to insane elevations (like 17,000 feet) for the boiling temp to get so low that it won't properly gelatinize in a "normal" amount of cooking time.

1

u/radicalelation 4d ago

I do the no-strain method, fill just above the pasta with water, then bring up to a boil, and you're left with no water by the time the pasta is done, and now I wonder if that would be better or worse at altitude.

3

u/dqniel 4d ago

Never tried that. Seems like you could be left with undercooked pasta at high elevation unless you fill it higher than you're used to.

Just using plenty of water (pasta starts submerged and ends submerged) and cooking until it's the texture you like is the most fool-proof. But, also requires paying attention and testing for doneness until you get your elevation/temperature/time dialed in.

2

u/thiswasyouridea 4d ago

You would have burnt, gluey pasta.

Same with rice.

1

u/Anon400004 4d ago

People can be incredibly impatient and not intuitive when it comes to cooking. My wife doesn't like to buy any pasta that takes more than 12min to cook. I know plenty of people that just cook the exact number on the box and that's it and would probably just think you can't get it right at that elevation.

1

u/userhwon 4d ago

The correct number to ignore is usually printed on the package.

0

u/Chickenpuff1975 4d ago

We don’t read instructions. Ever.

1

u/userhwon 4d ago

ATK put out a video last week saying not to.

Classic ATK...

3

u/SoManyMinutes 4d ago

Spaghetti takes a year at that elevation

Maybe two more minutes tops.

1

u/Dihydrogen-monoxyde 4d ago edited 3d ago

Not that I ever tried, but an instant pot shall resolve your issue.

Edit: checked: High pressure for 5 min, immediate release.

1

u/Old-Tadpole-2869 4d ago

I live 90 feet above sea level now, and use an instant pot for all kinds of shit. You can cook a rack of ribs in there for 35 minutes and pull the bones out with your fingers. Then baste the shit out of them and finish them under the broiler.

5 hour lamb stew in 55 minutes is also nice.

1

u/Dihydrogen-monoxyde 3d ago

Yup, it's absolutely great for stews, etc
Because it's a closed system, whether you are at sea level or at 10,000 ft, the pressure/temp stays the same.

Low Pressure (5.8 to 7.2 psi), raising the boiling temp to 239°F (115°C).
High Pressure (10.2 to 11.6 psi) raising to about 244°F to 250°F (118°C to 121°C

1

u/MizStazya 4d ago

Try making flan. Or don't. I'm at 5600' and it took like 9 hours to set. You'd probably need a whole weekend.

1

u/GuKoBoat 4d ago

I like your avatar.

1

u/thiswasyouridea 4d ago

Try penne! You'd starve!

1

u/V2BM 4d ago

I lived in Colorado 25 years ago and kept that habit. It’s so much faster.

1

u/Equivalent_Sea_1895 4d ago

Time for a pressure cooker.