WEBVTT - How Cooking at High Altitudes Works

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com

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<v Speaker 1>where smart Happens. Hi. I'm Marshall Brand with today's question,

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<v Speaker 1>why do some foods have high altitude cooking instructions? Almost

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<v Speaker 1>any packaged food that involves boiling, like boxed macaroni and

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<v Speaker 1>cheese dinners, for example, will have high altitude cooking instructions.

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<v Speaker 1>I have here in front of me a box of

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<v Speaker 1>Hamburger helper that says high altitude thirty sixty feet, decrease

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<v Speaker 1>hot water to three and three quarters cups and increase

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<v Speaker 1>the simmer time to seventeen minutes. So why would you

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<v Speaker 1>want to increase the simmer time at altitude? The reason

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<v Speaker 1>foods have these instructions is because the boiling point of

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<v Speaker 1>water changes with altitude. As you go higher, the boiling

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<v Speaker 1>temperature decreases, So at sea level, the boiling point of

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<v Speaker 1>water is two hundred twelve degrees fahrenheit. As a general rule,

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<v Speaker 1>the temperature decreases by one degree fahrenheit for every five

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<v Speaker 1>ft of altitude, So on top of Pike's Peak at

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<v Speaker 1>fourteen thousand feet, the boiling point of water is only

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<v Speaker 1>one seven degrees fahrenheit. So pasta or potatoes cooked at

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<v Speaker 1>sea level are seeing twenty five degrees more heat than

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<v Speaker 1>pasta or potatoes cooked on Pike's Peak. The lower heat

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<v Speaker 1>means you need a longer cooking time. Pressure cookers work

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<v Speaker 1>in the opposite direction. A pressure cooker raises the pressure

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<v Speaker 1>so that the water boils at a higher temperature. A

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<v Speaker 1>typical pressure cooker applies fifteen pounds of pressure, so the

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<v Speaker 1>boiling point of water rises to two hundred fifty degrees

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<v Speaker 1>fahrenheit at sea level. The higher temperature means that foods

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<v Speaker 1>take less time to cook inside a pressure cooker. Be

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