Will meat overcook in a boiling water pot?

Question

I recently ate at a restaurant that had you cook your own food. They had a heating plate in the middle of the table and they would set a small pot onto it and add in spices/vegetables to the water, after which you would receive a platter of raw meats (chicken, steak, shrimp, etc) to cook yourself.

The waiter mentioned that when you cook the meat you should leave it in for 1.5 - 2 minutes depending on what it was (shrimp for less time than the chicken/steak). If you leave the meat in for an extended period (say 15 to 25 minutes) would the meat over-cook in the boiling water? The small cuts of steak would cook to a 'medium' or 'medium-well' consistency for 2 minutes depending on the size of the cut.

This was the first time I have ever seen small cuts of meat (especially in that variety) cooked in a boiling water pot.

Thanks!

Asked by SirCobalt

Answer

Yes.

Water boils at about 212F (100C) and meat is cooked from 140F to 160F. If you left the meat in there for a very long time it would eventually approach 212F and start to get tough.

The time that they give you is going to be the time it takes to ensure that the meat is safe to eat. Generally I like it to be closer to the rare side as it is more tender that way.

Answered by Sobachatina

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What is this Asian dish made with boiled vegetables?

Question

Does anyone know which is the dish where we have a pot/pan of boiling vegetables/meat in the center and people sit around it with their noodles and soup bowls and keep picking things from it and eating?

Asked by MozenRath

Answer

I think you mean a hot-pot stew (huǒ guō). There are many styles, Wikipedia has a fairly good article about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_pot

Answered by nico

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Can I boil eggs in the same pot I'm boling something else?

Question

I know cooking the eggs kills the salmonella and that the risk is small even for raw eggs. However, I stopped boiling the eggs in the same pot I'm boiling something else, like potatoes, when I learnt the salmonella is in the shell.

Obviously, I'm not eating the shell and the eggs are washed. I wonder if I can boil everything in the same pot or not.

Asked by Julio

Answer

I personally reckon it's fine.

Couple of points I like to make here are:

1. Hygiene of eggs: Make sure you wash your eggs before you cook as surface of egg can be very dirty
2. Maybe put the eggs in with cold water, otherwise, put the eggs when the water is hot may crack the eggs

Answered by Foodrules

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Difference between boiling and steaming vegetables?

Question

I have eaten both boiled vegetables and steamed vegetables (e.g. broccoli, carrot, zucchini etc.), and I cannot tell the vegetables are cooked in one way or the other, whether by texture or by taste (unless they are boiled in broth; here, I refer to boiling in water).

Is there a reason why vegetables are preferred boiled to steamed, or vice versa?

Asked by KMC

Answer

To boil vegetables, you add the vegetables to a pot of water, and boil the water for a short duration until the vegetables are sufficiently cooked. One may add salt or other flavorings (such as broth, as you mentioned) to the water prior to boiling.

Steamed vegetables are cooked in a steamer basket, where the vegetables are not in the water, but are instead sitting above the water, and are thus cooked by steam.

Salt must be added to steamed vegetables after they are cooked rather than to the water prior to cooking, since salt does not evaporate.

Steamed vegetables can retain more of their original flavor and nutrients, since they do not leech out into the water during boiling. On the other hand, you cannot add additional flavors to your vegetables during steaming--since flavors cannot soak into the vegetables from the water, either.

Which taste/texture you prefer, of course, can be a matter of personal opinion.

In my experience, boiled vegetables are often mistakenly referred to as steamed vegetables. And often, many restaurants will sell "steamed vegetables" which are really just microwaved frozen vegetables, which may strictly be steamed (it certainly isn't boiled!), but really bears little resemblance to the true steaming process (and has relatively poor flavor, as well).

Answered by Flimzy

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Will meat cook inside of a rice cooker?

Question

I would like to use my rice cooker to cook one of those pre-packaged jambalaya mixes, and I've had good success with using prepackaged rice packets in my rice cooker. Sometimes there is a bit of sticking on the bottom but it comes right up and is never that bad.

My question is if it's safe to throw uncooked meat inside of the rice cooker. I'm talking about average sized chunks, but can cut them smaller to make sure they cook through.

Since water boils at 212°F, and the contents of the cooker are kept warm afterwards, I'm guessing that any meat you put in there (granted its cut thin enough) will cook straight through.

To be more specific, in this instance I am thinking about throwing cubes of deer venison which require much less cooking than say pork or poultry.

Asked by Styler

Answer

Anything will cook in a rice cooker, eventually. You will need to experiment with the size of the meat chunks. When the meal is done cooking, take them out and see if they are cooked and at the correct temperature. If not, finish cooking them and cut them up smaller next time.

What I would do however is cube the meat, sear it, and then throw it in to the cooker. You will end up with a better texture this way.

Answered by rhooligan

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Does adding salt help water boil faster?

Question

I've always heard adding salt to water makes it boil faster. Is this true? If so, why? If not, why do people do it?

Answer

No. The amount of salt you would have to add to water to make an appreciable difference is enormous.

Salt is added to water for various reasons: to season whatever is being cooked in it; to maintain colour; to maintain structural integrity.

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How is boiled rice different from steamed?

Question

I recently got into a friendly argument with a coworker about how rice should be prepared.

I insisted that the goal was to steam the rice- too much water and it would boil into a soupy pudding.

She claimed that her uncle's family in a little village in India boils their rice with a lot of water and pours off the excess. She says that the rice is "fine". I don't believe her.

Is it possible to make rice that isn't a sodden mess by boiling it? If so, how does it differ from steamed rice?

Answer

It is possible to boil rice without it essentially overcooking, you just have to be careful with your ratio of water to rice and the timing. It doesn't surprise me that your colleague's uncle's family cook rice well using boiling, as they probably do so every day and are well used to the ratios, timings and temperature of their cooker.

Boiled rice is generally softer and stickier as it is a more 'violent' method, which means more water will penetrate deeper into each grain and release more starch. Steaming is gentler and so results in firmer, more separate grains.

In both methods, washing the rice sufficiently can also make a big difference to the final result. Unwashed, boiled rice is far more likely to be soupy and mushy than rice that has been thoroughly washed as there will be more starch floating around.

The standard 'Western' style of boiling rice usually results in the water boiling off by the time the rice is cooked. Your colleague's family's method no doubt works, but the timing would need to be spot on to prevent mushy rice.

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Can I boil milk unattended (and still keep the pan clean)?

Question

Many recipes call for first bringing milk up to boil.

I normally boil 1 quart (1 litre) of milk in a 3-quart stainless steel heavy bottomed pan:

• use low heat
• keep scraping the bottom of the pan every 1-2 minute
• Milk comes to a boil in about 40-45 minutes

In spite of my carefully watching the milk, at the end, when I pour of the milk, I see a "crust" form on the pan. This makes cleaning up a pain.

Further, it is hard to constantly watch and scrape the milk every 1-2 minutes.

Is there a more convenient way to bring milk up to a boil?

Looking for:

• Unattended, fool-proof method
• Easy clean-up at the end.

Yes, I am aware of this other question:

• Quickest, and safest way, to bring milk to boil?

However, my question is a bit different.

Answer

Boiling the milk in the microwave is the only way to do this "unattended", and that requires a lot of trial and error to get the time just right. It also won't work with many recipes that involve stirring anything into the milk while cooking.

Out of the microwave, I use a non-stick pan, but even that requires scraping the bottom from time to time a bit to prevent solids from forming. (I use a rubber spatula for this.) I usually boil the milk on its own and and combine it with the rest of the recipe later.

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Why did my Turkish Delight come out flavorless?

Question

Yesterday I made Turkish Delight, and today I cut it into squares and tasted it. This was the recipe:

• 330 ml liquid (apple juice, from freshly cold-pressed apples, strong flavor)
• A small amount of ascorbic acid, to prevent apple juice from browning
• 330 grams of sugar
• 25g powdered gelatin
• icing sugar

Steps:

• Boil sugar and liquid until at 115 degrees celsius
• Take off the heat
• Add gelatin, soaked in a bit of the liquid
• Let set in a cold environment
• Cut into pieces
• Dust with icing
• Enjoy

It has set fine, it's pretty beautiful and hasn't bled yet (making icing soggy) but perhaps in a while.

The problem is that it is UTTERLY tasteless. Before cooking the sugar solution, it tasted great, and had a beautiful green color. After cooking, it was almost tasteless and almost completely clear.

Why did the juice lose the flavor, and what can I do to prevent it? It happened before adding gelatin.

A bonus question: It took a while to reach 115 degrees, about half an hour. It seems that cooking to 115 was mostly a matter of reducing the solution so that the boiling point increased. Does the extended boiling have any other beneficial effects, or can I simply increase the sugar amount from the start and bring it to a boil?

Answer

First, I don't know where you people all get these gelatin-filled Turkish delight recipes. Turkish delight is made with starch, not gelatin (at least the recipes used in Turkey are all with refined starch or rice flour). What you are making here is jell-o (if you use small amounts of gelatin) or gummi bears (if you use lots of gelatin).

Second, about the taste. It is normal that fresh apple juice loses its taste when it is cooked. The normal Turkish delight tastes of sugar. Its aroma comes from strong aromas added to the liquid (rose essence, or artificial aroma). You don't preserve natural fruit tastes in Turkish delight. Even if you wanted to, I don't think there is a way to do it with apple juice. Some stronger tasting fruits (cherries, raspberries) could give a syrup with more taste, but are not part of traditional lokum.

Third, about the temperature. Your observation is correct, you are just evaporating the liquid. In some cases, it might be desirable to start with more liquid and evaporate, so you get more concentrated aroma - for example, if you have started with pure rose water. But if you are making a recipe which requires concentrated sugar syrup, it is OK to start with a ratio which creates saturated syrup at room temperature (3 parts sugar to 2 parts water) and cook until the desired consistency is reached (this is recognizable from the boiling point).

For most recipes however, you don't want a concentrated syrup. The candy hardness is defined by the amount of starch used. In this case, you just mix everything and you are ready after it has bubbled, just like any pudding. The amount of sugar seems to be 1 part sugar to 2 parts water.

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How to boil pork knuckle?

Question

My family would like to eat pork knuckle (ideally the Germany/Austrian style but not necessary as long as they taste fine). I looked up various receipt but most require an oven, which I don't have (No! I do not have an oven!). I also do not have large enough fry pan - just one small enough to cook up the gravy.

I do have a very large boiling pot though; so I wonder in what way can I cook the pork knuckle just by boiling it and still manage to make it tasty. Should I add salt, tomato sauce, oil or what sort of seasoning in the boiling water? And normally in what way and how long it takes to boil pork knuckle to tender?

Some has suggest to boil pork knuckle in Coca Cola to make it tender and taste...Any creative receipt is also welcome.

Answer

When I was a child every christmas day we would have ragout des pattes de cochon (pigs feet stew) With meatballs in it. It is definetly possible to cook pigs feet in a pot!

That being said, I have never done it myself. This looks like a good recipe, you can get a good idea of what to do.

http://www.food.com/recipe/rago-t-de-pattes-de-cochon-pork-stew-with-meatballs-398226

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When boiling water, why start from cold?

Question

A question about probably the most mundane subject in cooking: boiling water.

For cooking techniques where you drop ingredients in simmering or boiling water - such as for vegetables, pasta, many rice recipes - I have often seen the recommendation that you start by putting cold water into a pot, then bring it to a boil. Why would you not start with hot water from the tap? It's going to be quicker than heating cold water, and your water heater is going to be way more energy efficient than your stove top at heating the stuff.

In particular, is there any physical or chemical process that starting from cold water encourages or prevents from happening?

(To reiterate: in the case where you add stuff to cold water and then start heating it, there clearly is a difference with starting with hot water; this question is about the case where you drop your ingredients in pure water that's already boiling.)

Answer

Some people say cold water boils faster than hot water, this is false, found here and here.

One reason might be (from the first link): "Some water heaters may introduce additional sediment into the water, giving you another reason to consider starting with cold—at least, if time is not of the essence."

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Why are some kind of packets-soups boiled up in lukewarm water, while normally just stirred into already boiling water?

Question

Inscription on packets-soups from supermarket states:

Stir the soup-meal into lukewarm water, boil it up, and wait 5-10 minutes. Ready to eat.

Normally the inscription says that you should boil up water and then stir the soup-meal into it. At least for all noodle and broccoli soups I regulary buy.

Whats the reason, that, in my case, a potato-soup and very few noodle soups needs to/should be boiled up in lukewarm water. Can somebody explain the cooking-physics/purpose behind this procedure?

I cannot imagine is has to do with cooking time like other boiling-tagged questions at first made me think (because the inscriptions are different on packets of same company, there seems to be a different reason), I suppose more that those soups would get lumpy/agglutinate? Cannot think of other reasons.

Answer

Some ingredients do not dissolve well in hot water - the starch swells and thickens, forming lumps that may have raw powder in them and are nasty. They need to be added to cold or lukewarm water and heated after they are dissolved. Other ingredients, most notably pasta, will partially dissolve in cold water making a thick gloppy soup. But if you add them to hot water they will "seal" (in a way) and stay together as they cook.

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Is it safe to reheat old water in an electric kettle?

Question

I usually throw away the remaining water in the electric kettle before refilling it if the water is more than about a day old. In theory wouldn't boiling kill any impurities the old water might have? How long would the water stay drinkable in the kettle (assuming you boil it again before drinking)?

Answer

Maybe I'm wrong, but there is no safety risk at all when boiling old water. There is however something like taste. The reason the old water is discarded is because, after boiling, it lacks oxygen and will taste stale. This is also the reason why coffee is made with 95ºC hot water, or why Moroccan tea is poured from above (to oxygenate)...

So, as long as you boil it before drinking it should be safe.

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How can I stop the cooking in my chicken and noodle soup?

Question

I usually enjoy my chicken noodle soup right after cooking it to perfect noodle doneness. Most of what I cooked goes into the fridge. My problem is that while I'm waiting for the left-over soup to cool off, the noodles get overcooked. How could I prevent that?

I don't want to put the warm soup in the fridge or freezer, and eating the just-done portion more al-dente isn't an option.

The noodles are wide egg noodles, and there's about 2-3 l water in the soup.

Answer

rfusca already gave very good suggestions for the literal question from the title. However, you can also address your problem the other way round.

First, cook the soup until your noodles are al dente (but will become just right while cooling at a normal speed). Take the big pot of soup off the heat.

Second, take a small pot, and fill it with just one portion of soup per eater. Put it on the heat, and cook until the noodles are done. (Alternatively, put the single portions into porcelain bowls and microwave until the noodles are ready - it spares you washing an additional pot, but I wouldn't nuke a good soup for no reason).

Third, eat your cooked soup portions and let the big pot of soup slowly cool on its own.

Fourth, freeze the soup from the big pot. Finis.

Note that from a food safety point of view, you are better off with flash cooling the soup. But what I outlined here is probably much simple and hassle-free. Plus, 2-3 liters of soup minus a portion or two should spend less than the magical 4 hours in the danger zone while cooling. If you are doing this with a very big pot of soup and feeding lots of people, you should probably prefer a rapid cooling.

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How should I boil green beans to keep them crisp?

Question

I just pulled fresh Blue Lake Bush green beans from my garden, snapped the ends and wanted to boil them, while keeping then crisp. How should I boil them so they are cooked through, but not limp?

Answer

You shouldn't cook more than a few minutes, and should cool them as quickly as possible afterwards. Ideally, you'll be blanching them, and here's how:

1. Bring a pot of water with a pinch of salt in it to a roiling boil
2. Dump beans in, and cook for a few minutes
3. Check that beans are fully cooked (time will vary by variety and ripeness of beans)
4. Strain beans, and IMMEDIATELY transfer to an prepared ice water bath to cool as fast as possible

This ensures beans are precisely cooked, but do not have a chance to over-cook, and using the ice water helps them retain color and flavor.

It's how we get deliciously crisp haricot vert (French green beans) at the restaurant I work for. Note that cooking times and crispness will also vary based on the variety and age at which the beans were picked.

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How to make red wine sauce?

Question

I have tried to make red wine sauce using this recipe, but it didn't end up so well.

One problem was this step:

Bring to a boil and let boil boil over high heat until mixture is reduced to a thin layer in bottom of saucepan.

How much is a "thin layer"?

Ideally, I would like to see a movie of how it should be done, but YouTube doesn't have such.

Does anyone know a recipe that is explained more in detail?

Answer

If the problem you're having is that it is too watery (I assume that's what you mean by "too thin"), there might be two causes:

1. The recipe you linked to calls for a sizable amount of stock/broth, relative to the wine. It might be assuming that you have something closer to homemade stock, which has a high concentration of gelatin, as opposed to store-brought "broth", which is more like meat-flavoured juice.

2. You might not have reduced it enough. A "thin layer" could mean anything, but it's not thickness you're concerned about, it's viscosity. When the sauce has been reduced enough, it should have the consistency of... sauce. As in thick, sticky, and slow-moving. If it still looks and pours like water, it's not reduced enough.

On the subject of taste, there's also the question of which wine you use. The wine sauce is going to taste like the wine (stronger, actually), which is one of the reasons why chefs will tell you not to cook with any wine that you wouldn't drink.

It's pretty easy to make a reduction - just continue to let water boil off until it turns into the consistency you want. If you overdo it, you can always add a little extra wine to compensate.

As noted in the comment clarification - if you're simmering at a reasonable temperature, expect to wait at least an hour, and for no less than half the water to evaporate.

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What does simmer slowly mean with white soybeans?

Question

The instructions in the soybeans say that parboil first and then simmer slowly for two hours.

Let's consider this in the scale of my plate. The power-scale of my plate is from 1 to 6. I put it first to 2, then to 3 and then to 4. It started to boil little with 4. Therefore, I consider that simmer slowly means no bubbles in the water i.e. 3.

I assume that parboil means "put the power of the plate to 6 and wait that everything bubbles vigorously".

Answer

I explain what the technical definition between a simmer, boil and roiling boil is here. A slow simmer would be a very thin but continuous stream of bubbles rising from the bottom of the pot.

Parboiling does not mean maximum heat. Parboiling means that you're only boiling until it's part of the way cooked, not completely cooked; so, you're cooking mostly at a full boil, then reducing heat to a simmer to finish them. This ensures they don't overcook.

You'll have to figure what setting a boil and a simmer are on your plate, as it depends on the power and size of your pot. On a stove, I'd expect 2 to be a simmer, and about 3 as a full boil, but it varies from one model to another.

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How long should I boil green beans to get them crisp?

Question

I just pulled fresh Blue Lake Bush green beans from my garden, snapped the ends and wanted to boil them until they are crisp. How long should I boil them so they are cooked through, but not limp?

Answer

You shouldn't cook more than a few minutes, and should cool them as quickly as possible afterwards. Ideally, you'll be blanching them, and here's how:

1. Bring a pot of water with a pinch of salt in it to a roiling boil
2. Dump beans in, and cook for a few minutes
3. Check that beans are fully cooked (time will vary by variety and ripeness of beans)
4. Strain beans, and IMMEDIATELY transfer to an prepared ice water bath to cool as fast as possible

This ensures beans are precisely cooked, but do not have a chance to over-cook, and using the ice water helps them retain color and flavor.

It's how we get deliciously crisp haricot vert (French green beans) at the restaurant I work for. Note that cooking times and crispness will also vary based on the variety and age at which the beans were picked.

Check more discussion of this question.

At what point is water considered “at a boil?”

Question

Lots of recipes call for waiting for the water to come "to a boil." However I have never been sure when that is. From my viewpoint it could be at three different points:

1. First start to see small air bubbles coming up from the bottom of the pan
2. When the surface of the water is noticeably disturbed by the bubbles
3. When it is a full on raging torrent of activity

Depending on the amount of water used, these three points could be several minutes apart from each other, which will affect the cooking time.

Answer

By definition, 1 is a simmer (once the bubbles form a steady stream), 2 is a boil, and 3 is a "roiling boil."

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How do I prevent an egg cracking while hard boiling it?

Question

Sometimes when I cook hard boiled eggs they will crack in the saucepan, and some of the egg will seep out into the water.

Am I boiling the water too vigorously, or can I add something to the water to prevent it?

Answer

I used the method here before with good success: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_perfect_hard_boiled_eggs/

Basically you start with the eggs in the pan with cold water and bring the water to temperature, right when it reaches boiling you pull the heat back and let the eggs cook for 10 minutes.

You don't need a full on boil to hard boil the eggs.

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