Put a lid on it!

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

Soldato
Joined
17 Aug 2009
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Location
Finchley, London
Whenever I've got boiling water and then take the temp down to simmer and then put a lid on the saucepan, it always seems to spit or overflow water out the sides of the lid and drench the hob. My hob top temp number for boiling is 9 and I tend to simmer at about number 4. Should I be taking it down lower to stop water spitting out or is it unavoidable?


Also, when you wash veg like potatoes or mushrooms, do you just rinse yours or do you lightly scrub them? My fresh baked potato tonight which I bought today had blemishes all over and I scrubbed with my fingers which started to rub some of the top skin off. Never sure if I need to do that but it's sometimes hard to tell if it's a light layer of soil or just the way the skin looks.
 
I'd turn mine lower than 4 but it also depends what I'm cooking.

Baked spud, good run under water and light rub. Mushrooms, I never put them near water. Just rubbed lightly with kitchen roll.
 
I don't get why people wash fruit and veg. When you wash your hands you use soap, this makes sense, soap kills the bacteria. Simply wetting your hands is not sufficient, so why doesn't this logic cross over to food? If you actually want to wash it use soap, or like me, just don't bother washing it?
 
You need sauce pan lids with air vents built in otherwise when the air /water vapour expands it forces the lid open and the condensed water splutters out. Try cocking the lid slightly to release the pressure. Either way lid on needs less heat than lid off simmering as the heat doesnt escape so readily and the pressure is higher
 
Mushrooms you brush off any dirt.

Cleaning veg isn't about removing nasties - most soap won't kill that.
It's about removing mud, bird ****, pesticides. Any of the crap you don't want.

And to be honest, if you buy from a supermarket, it'll all be precleaned, tasteless, but precleaned.
 
desires said:
I don't get why people wash fruit and veg. When you wash your hands you use soap, this makes sense, soap kills the bacteria. Simply wetting your hands is not sufficient, so why doesn't this logic cross over to food? If you actually want to wash it use soap, or like me, just don't bother washing it?
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It is not for bacteria but to remove dirt and foreign bodies. The aim of most growers is for fruit/veg to be only handled once, and that is when it is picked. I work for a soft fruit producer and all berries are picked, unwashed, straight into the punnets they are sold in. The packhouse is there to do visual QA, check punnet weight and apply lids and labels.

Unwashed fruit will still have a small amount of dust and pesticides, well within safe margins, so it is best to rinse them before eating.
 
I tend to tun down pans of boiling water to a little over half-way for things like boiling rice where you want the water rolling but not boiling over, also place the lid at an angle so more steam can escape. Even with vent holes in the lid pressure & heat will build rapidly over boiling water.

And I never wash mushrooms and only lightly scrub potatoes if they're muddy.
 
WillyNelson said:
I tend to tun down pans of boiling water to a little over half-way for things like boiling rice where you want the water rolling but not boiling over, also place the lid at an angle so more steam can escape.
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To be fair if you're cooking rice you just want to bring to the boil then simmer with the lid tightly on. If you take the lid off the steam will escape and you'll be left with dry rice possibly burnt to the pan.
 
The temp you use for simmering should be the lowest you can get it while keeping it simmering, makes sense? It all depends on the volume being boiled to how much heat it needs, less volume, less heat.

As for boiling, once its up to the boil you can cut the heat down and you wont need to keep the hob going full tilt to maintain a boil. Your just wasting electricity.

As for washing veg, nether bother unless its physically dirty, simply rinsing it under water won't remove anything that's on it anyway unless its grit or dirt. The trace amount of chemicals wont be removed with rinsing alone and as far as bacteria goes being over hygienic is just as much of a problem as being un-hygienic.
 
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The problem with cooking on electric is that when I've taken the temperature control down after boiling, it takes a little while for the element to reduce/cool to the new temp. So perhaps I should wait a little bit before putting a lid on. And yeah, I'll also take the temp right down to the lowest while keeping it simmering.


When recipes say 'bring to the boil then simmer' does this mean the second the water boils to take it down or do you guys tend to let it boil for a minute or so before simmering?
 
You have two options for controlling the temp as it comes to the boil:

Can just move the pan off the element slightly to immediately compensate to stop it boiling over while its cooling down to simmer levels.

You can also turn it down one or two as its just coming to the boil in anticipation rather than waiting for it to boil fully.

Electric hobs are rubbish for having any real control on temperature.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
You have two options for controlling the temp as it comes to the boil:

Can just move the pan off the element slightly to immediately compensate to stop it boiling over while its cooling down to simmer levels.

You can also turn it down one or two as its just coming to the boil in anticipation rather than waiting for it to boil fully.

Electric hobs are rubbish for having any real control on temperature.
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I used to have the big ring on max to boil, then another ring on 1 or 2 to simmer and just move it along. Ideal for cooking rice etc.

Luckily I haven't had to use electric in years, anyone who buys anything other than gas or MAYBE induction, needs shooting.
 
pitchfork said:
To be fair if you're cooking rice you just want to bring to the boil then simmer with the lid tightly on. If you take the lid off the steam will escape and you'll be left with dry rice possibly burnt to the pan.
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Nope, I've never once managed to boil rice dry or burn it to the pan. That might be a risk if you're using the 2:1 water to rice method but I use plenty of water and cook in until just done, then drain and return to the warm pan with a lid on it. Gives perfectly cooked fluffy rice with no stickiness.
 
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