How to boil water?

[Doc]

We opened this new forum just for asking questions, from basic questions to gourmet cooking questions.


So, I thought I'd start it out with a very basic question:

How do you boil water?

Does one or two bubbles coming up mean it's boiling or do you have to wait for more vigorous bubbles?

[Deadly Sushi]

I believe ahhhhhhhh........ *clearing throat*

Its a process in which a liquid phase is converted into a vapor phase. The energy for phase change is generally supplied by the surface on which boiling occurs. Boiling differs from evaporation (http://www.answers.com/topic/evaporation) at predetermined (http://www.answers.com/topic/predetermined-1) vapor/gas-liquid interfaces because it also involves creation of these interfaces at discrete sites on the heated surface. Boiling is an extremely efficient process for heat removal and is utilized in various energy-conversion and heat-exchange systems and in the cooling of high-energy density components.
I didnt even copy and paste that. *cough* :whistle: Below is the graphical representation of boiling water.

http://content.answers.com/main/content/img/McGrawHill/Encyclopedia/images/CE757526FG0010.gif

[jim_slagle]

Sush, I think that is a little more information than Doc was looking for :read:

Doc sometime the instructions tell you how high a boil they want. If it doesn't say I bring the water to a rolling boil, the complete surface of the liquid bubbling and moving.

Jim

[waybomb]

You take a pyrex bowl filled with water and strap it to your drypipes on that 1200 hp BBC in that 19 foot flat bottom. Then do hotlaps up and down the river.

Water boiled.

[babe]

glass container in micro wave, on high bout five min. for a cup or two. even faster if u use hot tap water. lol

[buzzard767]

Pour water into a magnetic receptive pot.

Place on induction burner.

Turn on high.

Blam! Boiling water waaaay faster than gas.

[waybomb]

^^^^??????????????????????????

[FooD]

I only boil water at or near sea level. I like it piping hot.
Don't boil water at high altitude. You'll end up with a lousy cup of tea.

[waybomb]

^^^ 'splain it to me? How does it make a difference? How can a few less degrees of heat on water make a difference? What if one was to use distilled, DI, or even RO water at any altitude? Is it the minerals in the water?

Just curious..

Here's a water boiling point calculator:
http://www.csgnetwork.com/h2oboilcalc.html

[Maverick2272]

I seriously thought there was a joke in here somewhere....LOL.

[waybomb]

And thinking about this a bit - being at sea level, if you boil water during a huricane, boiling point can drop below 205f.

So, what different between that and at an altitude under high pressure dome?

[waybomb]

I seriously thought there was a joke in here somewhere....LOL.

Ya, I tried to figure it out too, but I am too dense, so I figured there's something to what he's saying.

[FooD]

^^^ 'splain it to me? How does it make a difference? How can a few less degrees of heat on water make a difference? What if one was to use distilled, DI, or even RO water at any altitude? Is it the minerals in the water?

Just curious..

Here's a water boiling point calculator:
http://www.csgnetwork.com/h2oboilcalc.html

I don't think tea steeps well at altitude.

[waybomb]

Hmmm. Why do you think that is?
Now I HAVE to go find out.

[waybomb]

Here's how to brew at low atmospheric pressures (can happen at sea level too!)

http://www.ehow.com/how_4514614_brew-tea-high-altitude.html

[Wart]

To me 'boiling water' is a rolling boil. Just a couple nucleation sites is a simmer.

For Pasta or rice (depending how I'm making the rice) I like the water crawling up the pot or pan because the water has as much energy as it can hold so return to boil is as short as I can make it. At least in my mind. Sort of. I know that last calorie isn't going to make a difference except in theory.

On the rare occasion I boil water for other reasons, and those slip my mind right now, boiling is the entire surface otf the water being disturbed.

And as mentioned before, a couple of nucleation sites is a simmer. A high simmer but still a simmer.

A point of trivia, North East Ohio is ~ 1000 feet above sea level. I have a Fluke thermocouple for a DMM. No matter how rolling a boil I have the water the meter indicates 211 degrees. If I touch the tip of the probe to the bottom of the pan it will read 212. Seems to support what I've been taught about latent heat.

Now, using the double boiler is a different subject.

[RobsanX]

I use hard anodized aluminum pots, and I notice that the entire bottom is covered in bubbles before they start rising. Is this a sign of good heat distribution?

[FooD]

My weight weenie camping cookware is hard ano. I like them.

[buckytom]

lol sush!!!! great stuff. hey, how do i give that karma thing?

to me, boiling means a rolling boil. ask any irishman, you can't make proper tea unless the water has come to a full, rolling boil.

it's especially important to build up a lot of energy in the water and the pot when doing things like whole, live lobsters, or even skinning tomatoes.

for the former, you don't want to be cruel and make them suffer in "just kinda hot water" to their deaths. and they absorb a lot of heat so the water needs to be crankin'.

for the latter, tomatoes will skin easier in hotter water, without becoming mushy.

[Ronjohn]

1) Get big pot of water

2) add hunk of dry ice

Presto... one bubbling, steaming, pot of water. :tongue:

[Fisher's Mom]

Well, this is a skill I only recently acquired, but I think only a full rolling boil is a real boil. Sometimes I boil water in the microwave, although it explodes occasionally.

[FooD]

Water boils at 100* centigrade and freezes at 0* centigrade. I like the metric system. It makes sense.

[buckytom]

i avoirdupois in your general direction...

[QSis]

i avoirdupois in your general direction...


LOLOLOL! I have no idea to whom it was directed, or why, but it struck me so funny, BT, that I'm thinking of making it my first-ever signature! :yum:

Lee

P.S. Please don't anyone explain - it'll make it less funny. LOL!

[Keltin]

Well, this is a skill I only recently acquired, but I think only a full rolling boil is a real boil. Sometimes I boil water in the microwave, although it explodes occasionally.

That’s dangerous, but it is kind of cool. It happens because the water gets super heated and rises above 212 degrees F but has not boiled yet. This often happens in clean (no suspended particles) glass containers with incredibly smooth sides. Scratches on the glass or suspended particles in the water act as nucleation sites (spots where a bubble can form) and will trigger the boiling. Once boiling begins, the water is agitated and will continue to boil as long as heat is applied.

When water gets super heated it will rapidly flash boil and convert some of the water to stream as it dissipates the excess energy it has absorbed. This often happens when you grab the cup from the microwave thus disturbing it. It can also happen when you put a stirring device in the water or add something to it – both cases agitate the water with the insertion of nucleation sites.

You can avoid this by vigorously agitating the water before microwaving as this will create small bubbles that can act as nucleation sites. Or stick a straw bamboo skewer in the water – both of which will act as nucleation sites. Or, add a little something to the water like a pinch of salt.

When water is super heated, the higher the temp it is above 212, the more violent the “explosion” (more water instantly turns to steam). This happened to me once. I microwaved some water in a new measuring cup. Apparently the water I used had no suspended particles in it (such as distilled water) and the cup was new with no scratches.

I ran the microwave for 3 or so minutes, and noticed it hadn’t boiled yet. I figured it had to be hot enough after 3 minutes, so I grabbed the cup and pulled it out. Luckily, it didn’t explode at that point. I then went to pour the water into a cup with instant hot chocolate powder in it, and as I poured it and it hit the powder, it began foaming and sputtering violently – but never splashed and burned me. I imagine the temp wasn’t that much greater that 212 so I had only a minor reaction. but it was really cool. At first I thought something was really wrong with my hot chocolate powder! :lol:

[Wart]

Had you spooned the powder into the hot liquid. not poured hot water into the cooler powder and cup, it would have been much more exciting.