On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 323

gently Water at a 180ºF/80ºC simmer in a covered pot will keep the pot atmosphere around 180º as well, and leave the outer portions of the meat less overdone In China, some dishes are steamed in open pots, where the water vapor mixes with ambient air and the temperature is well below the boil Commercial convection steamers can produce saturated vapor all the way from body temperature to the boil They make it possible for restaurant cooks to prepare moist meats and fish with very little attention and keep them at serving temperature until needed High-Pressure and Low-Pressure Cooking While conventional cooking is limited to an effective maximum temperature of the boiling point of water (p 784), the pressure cooker allows us to raise that maximum from 212 to 250ºF/100 to 120ºC It does so by tightly sealing the meat and cooking liquid in the pan and allowing the vaporizing water to build up the pressure to about double the normal air pressure at sea level This increased pressure increases the boiling point, and high pressure and temperature put together produce an overall doubling or tripling of the heat transfer rate into the meat, as well as an extremely efficient conversion of collagen into gelatin Pot roasts cook in less than an hour instead of two or three Of course the proteins get very hot and therefore squeeze out much of their moisture; meat must be well endowed with fat and collagen to end up anything but dry At the other end of the pressure scale is cooking at high altitude, where the atmospheric pressure is significantly lower than it is at sea level The boiling point of water is also lower (203ºF/95ºC at mile-high Denver, 194ºF/90ºC at 10,000 feet/3,000 meters), and meat cooking more gentle — and more time-consuming Microwave Cooking ... tripling of the heat transfer rate into the meat, as well as an extremely efficient conversion of collagen into gelatin Pot roasts cook in less than an hour instead of two or three Of course the proteins... the proteins get very hot and therefore squeeze out much of their moisture; meat must be well endowed with fat and collagen to end up anything but dry At the other end of the pressure scale is cooking at high altitude, where the. . .the pressure to about double the normal air pressure at sea level This increased pressure increases the boiling point, and high pressure and temperature put together produce an