Do I need to adjust slow cooker recipes for high altitude?

Question

I live at a high altitude and love to use my slow cooker, but I don't think the meals are coming out as expected when I follow the recipes. Do I need to adjust the recipes for high altitudes?

Asked by challen

Answer

It really depends on the length of time recommended. Due to the usual long length (>4 hours) of slow-cooker recipe cook times most elevation differences would be negligible. However if a recipe calls for a cook time of less than 4 hours you may see some foods not cooking as usual. Legumes might especially be sensitive to this as they take a very long time to cook completely. Below is a table from Wikipedia on elevation vs water boiling temperatures.

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Altitude, m Boiling point of water, °C

(0ft) 100 (212°F)

(984.25ft) 99.1 (210.3°F)

(1968.5ft) 98.1 (208.5°F)

(3280.8ft) 96.8 (206.2°F)

(6561.68ft) 93.3 (199.9°F)

(13123.36ft) 87.3 (189.1°F)

(19685.04ft) 81.3 (178.3°F)

(26246.72ft) 75.5 (167.9°F)

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You may need to experiment with longer cook times for foods that you are having trouble with.

Answered by Derrick Boudwin

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