Quote: from Andy Lynes x on 10:56 pm on Aug. 5, 2001
Yvonne, thats really interesting about the water temperature thing. I think I heard it on the TV somewhere, tried it out and noticed that if you add some salt to hot water just below boiling point, it appears to immeadiately start boiling, which I thought indicated that the salt allows the water to come to a boil at a lower temperature. In fact it appears to heat the water up and boil at a higher temperature, which will cook the potatos more quickly. -----
Andy Lynes
www.alynes.freeserve.co.uk
eGullet.com Community Coordinator UK
Andy:
The "instant" boiling you see is mostly from the heat of mixing of the salt (crystals or flakes) in water -- doesn't do much to the temperature, just roils things up. There's an equation in one of my long-forgotten chemistry books about how much salt raises the boiling temp how much. Main point (within reason) is taste, not speed of cooking. Salt is highly soluble in most any temp of water -- unlike sugar, whose solubility is much more temp dependent.
Potato Puree, Mashed Potatoes, Pommes
in Cooking
Posted