I've been wondering about this for quite a while: Some recipes tell you to bring water to "a boil", some tell you to bring it to "the boil". Same action, so why the difference? Is it a cultural thing? Or is one, in fact, more correct than the other?
A pinch of baking soda really helps them brown faster. This video from Khymos blew my mind when I first saw it: http://blog.khymos.org/2008/09/26/speeding...llard-reaction/