From the article: Cooking at High Altitude
Cooking at high altitudes is different from cooking at sea level. Recipes that are otherwise reliable may not turn out properly when prepared at high altitudes. Share your tips for cooking at high altitudes. Share your tips & tricks!
Pressure cooking in high altitudes
- Greetings! When it comes to cook at base camp at high altitude, the pressure cooker is a "must have". Since the pressure builds up inside (to 14/15 psi), the boiling point of water is up to 100°c (its boiling point at sea level). You can boil eggs, cook pasta and soups with the same timing as usual and you dont loose that much water in the process since the cooker only steams to regulate its inner pressure. You can bake bannock in a ziploc bag inside the cooker and toast it on the flame after to have a very decent mountaineer's bread. This technique is not only good for food but weightwise aswell, since it cuts cooking time by 5 to 10, you have less heating fuel to pack using this contraption. For the same weigh you can have more fresh ingredients and less fuel cannisters in your base camp cooking kit. Regards
- —Guest Pichnouf
Cooking Above 10,000 Feet
- I've been living in the highest incorporated city in the USA for over a year. At an altitude of 10,200 feet I find baking adjustments the hardest for me. I've found that at this altitude I need to reduce the flour and increase the water. I'm still learning to adjust... I'll take any tips that will help with everyday dishes like legumes and potatoes.
- —Guest Colorado Mountain Cholo
Boiling Point At High Altitudes
- You can make water boil at hotter temperatures by adding salt (or any other material that dissolves in water, but salt tastes best). The extra ionic interactions between the salt ions and water molecules makes it harder for water to escape as vapor, hence the boiling point is increased.
- —Guest Goggles
High Altitude Cooking
- at 5000 feet above sea level, water boils at 6 degress less. This is the most important fact, when making candy. For instance, a caramel recipe that says hard ball is 250 is now 243 for me. Most regular baking, it doesn't make much difference as I don't usually worry about exact measurements, but on candy and sugar arts, I am exact. This is what makes a "Never-Fail" candy recipe!
- —brendaslc
