How to Understand High Altitude Cooking
What does altitude have to do with cooking? Well, cooking is
directly affected by our atmospheric pressure, altitude. As water boils
at 212 degrees F at sea level, it boils much lower at higher
elevations. To calculate it boils about one degree lower for every 500
feet above sea level you are at. Thus, boiling at a lower temperature
means it would take longer to cook food when boiling!
When baking, the lower pressure also affects the rate at which heat
rises. In cakes, it rises too fast, so the cake may tend to expand,
fall, and overflow easier/faster. So we need to add approximately 5% more flour to
slow down the rapid rise of the cake. We also see a rapid evaporation
of liquids when baking at high altitude, thus, we need to compensate by
adding 20% more water to counterbalance the extra flour we added and rapid evaporation. Bake at 25 degrees higher to help set the crust since our boiling point is lower to prevent from undercooking. Reduce baking time by 20% to prevent overbaking.
Stay tuned for Part II as we discuss bread making and blanching to freeze at high altitudes.
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