There are people who cook on a whim, and still they usually have all the dishes that turn out well. Others, on the contrary, should follow the recipes step by step so that nothing fails in preparation. From the exact amount of ingredients to correct fire temperatureeverything is important that the dishes are perfect. However, sometimes important details such as the height at which they are cooked can be forgotten. And it’s not the same to cook paella in the middle of the Valencian lagoon than on top of the Sierra Nevada. One might think that the difference is that the Valencians are better at making paella, but it is possible that even they were put uphill at 2000 meters. Literally.
The reason why the same dish can look different at different heights is due to atmospheric pressure. And it’s that when we go up the meters above sea level, the indicated pressure decreases, changing important factors such as the boiling point of water. It is often said that this boils at 100°C, but this data is for a pressure of 1 atmosphere. As you rise, this temperature drops and at an altitude of about 2000 meters it can reach 92 ° C.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that cooking at high altitude is bad. Dishes can be just as delicious if we keep this in mind. cooking should be slower. Otherwise, for example, in the case of paella, the rice may end up on the wrong end.
What about pressure and altitude?
Generally speaking, atmospheric pressure depends on the volume of a column of air falling on a body at a given height. If we are at sea level, this column will be much larger. hard way, we have a lot of air upstairs. But as the height increases, that column shrinks, and with it, the column. Atmosphere pressure.
But what does this have to do with boiling point of water? Well, to answer this question, we need to know what vapor pressure is. This is the one that acts on the particles of the liquid just before passing into gaseous state. Therefore, the surface of a liquid is considered to be boiling when the vapor pressure is equal to the ambient pressure. Therefore, the lower the atmospheric pressure, the faster the same liquid will boil. This applies, for example, to water.
So if we’re going cook paella or any other dish at a high altitude, it must be taken into account that the water will boil earlier and, therefore, it must be cooked over low heat so that all the ingredients are properly cooked.
Cooking paella this way also has its benefits.
The low barometric pressure we experience at high temperatures can also be helpful in cooking.
For example, in 2015 a group of scientists from Nestlé Research Center in LausanneIn Switzerland, a study was conducted to analyze what pressure conditions are best for making vegetable broth.
Curiously, they noticed that at lower pressures equivalent to higher altitudes, organoleptic properties vegetables in broth. It is logical that this can be achieved artificially. It is not necessary to build a broth factory on top of a mountain. Although it is possible to take into account a trifle. One thing is clear, there are no bad places where you can cook paella, broth or any other dish. At best, perhaps some scientific ignorance, but nothing that has no solution.
Source: Hiper Textual
