One should cover a pan while heating?
The legend
You should always cover a pot of water you want to boil, so that it boils faster.In other words, if you're heating water (or anything else), boiling is achieved more quickly if the pan is covered than if it's not.
How to check?
Boil 1 liter of water in a covered pan, timing the time, then 1 liter of water in an uncovered pan, again timing the time.Comparing the times will show whether you really need to cover the pot to go faster.
Let's check:
We measure 1 liter of water and place it in an uncovered saucepan on a hotplate, into which we dip a thermometer.
Turn on the stove and start the timer, reaching 100°C (210°F) in 9 minutes and 30 seconds.The stove is left to cool down for about an hour, returning to room temperature.
Another 1 liter of water is measured and placed in a covered saucepan on the stove, still using a thermometer.
Turn on the stove and start the stopwatch, reaching 100°C (210°F) in 9 minutes and 27 seconds.
The result is even more obvious if you compare the temperature curve, with the uncovered pan in red and the covered pan in green.Conclusion
The time difference is too small to be significant: covered or uncovered, it's practically the same thing.Some people have pointed out to me that if we were using a (much) larger volume of water, it wouldn't be the same; the lid would be effective, but in home cooking, we only use small volumes.
To sum up:"You should always cover a pot of water you want to boil, so that it boils faster", is not true.
Lasts posts
The little trap of thick cream
When you need to add cream to a recipe, you might be wondering: thick (heavy) cream or liquid cream? In most cases, there's no big difference: you can use either. But there is one exception, and that's when the cream needs to be cooked, for a sauce for example, and here the difference between...December 13th 20241,3585
Sauce and salad: When and how to mix them?
When dressing a salad, there's a kind of golden rule: add the dressing very shortly before serving, especially if your salad contains crunchy elements such as croutons or fresh vegetables, which will retain their crunchiness or crispiness. But, as is often the case in the kitchen, there are...November 29th 20241,4155
No need to boil gelatin
Gelatin is a magical ingredient for making light, creamy, structured desserts, yet it's often misused in the kitchen. A common mistake in some recipes is the idea that it needs to be boiled for it to work properly, but this is a mistake indeed: gelatin melts at a much lower temperature, around...November 21th 20241,5425
Your oven in "proofer" mode
In the bakery, proofing is a crucial stage in the process of making light, plump breads and pastries. During proofing, the yeast ferments the sugars present in the dough, releasing carbon dioxide which forms bubbles. This process allows the dough to swell and aerate, guaranteeing a soft, light...September 27th 20244,6015
The right size of zucchini
When you buy zucchini at the market, you're often offered a wide variety of sizes, from very small to very large. But which ones to choose? Here are a few tips.September 9th 20244,7795
Other pages you may also like
85 grams of eggs?
Some time ago, I already spoke to you about the difference between baking and pastry-making, I emphasized, among other things, the precision of pastry-making which requires grams, cm, degrees and minutes. That's why, on the one hand, you have baking and cooking, where a certain tolerance is...November 26th 201849 K4.6
The 3 kinds of meringue
Meringue – what could be simpler? Just beaten egg whites with sugar added. This makes a fairly stiff mixture which can then be cooked in a cool oven to create those lovely, light confections. But in the world of professional patisserie, meringue comes in three different kinds. Even if the...June 14th 201358 K4.5
Making the most of seeds: Dry roasting
In cooking, and particularly in baking, there are a lot of seeds we can use, such as linseed, sesame, poppy, etc. Usually, recipes simply say to add them just as they are to the mixture or dough. To make a seeded loaf, for example, prepare a plain bread dough as usual, then, towards the end of...January 30th 201557 K4.0
The skin side of the fish first?
When it comes to cooking fresh fish, if it's filleted with its skin on and you're planning to pan-fry it in a little olive oil, for example, you might ask yourself the following question: Which side, skin or flesh, should come into contact with the pan first?February 13th 202121 K4.4
Incise some meats before cooking
Have you ever had this rather unpleasant phenomenon: you grill a meat, a pork chop or a veal cutlet for example, and during cooking it becomes completely deformed? It takes a very strange shape, a bit difficult to describe, a sort of cone around the central area of the meat, which also hinders...June 19th 20218,4024.9
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.
The 1 comment already posted on this page