Andy wrote:


So it's either the high altitude or spaghetti with a bad atitude!??

Andy

Altitude has EVERYTHING to do with it.

We live at 5800 feet (Denver, Colorado suburbs) and water boils at ~200
deg. F (I believe the rule is that water boils at 2 deg. "cooler" for
every 1000 ft. above sea level).

This makes a big difference for every single thing that is cooked by
boiling or steaming, whether in water, broth, wine, etc. For example,
boiling potatoes for mashing usually takes ~15-20 minutes at sea level.
They are still crunchy here after 20 minutes and take at least 30-40
minutes. Boiled eggs (hard or soft) take at least 7 minutes to get the
whites cooked and the yolk still soft.

Pasta is exactly the same. It always takes an extra 10 minutes or more
to cook than package directions. In fact, many brands give high
altitude cooking times, too.

Since I spent the first half of my years at sea level, this knowledge
came at the price of much frustration until I got used to all kinds of
high altitude cooking. Yes, baking is different, also, and candy-making
is VERY difficult here.

Happy cooking,
gloria p

Puester wrote:

Since I spent the first half of my years at sea level, this knowledge
came at the price of much frustration until I got used to all kinds of
high altitude cooking. Yes, baking is different, also, and candy-making
is VERY difficult here.

Happy cooking,
gloria p

Interesting! Conversely, does the high altitude *help* anything? Perhaps
egg whites beat higher or cakes rise better or any thing???

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:05:21 -0400, Goomba38
wrote:

Puester wrote:

Since I spent the first half of my years at sea level, this knowledge
came at the price of much frustration until I got used to all kinds of
high altitude cooking. Yes, baking is different, also, and candy-making
is VERY difficult here.

Happy cooking,
gloria p

Interesting! Conversely, does the high altitude *help* anything? Perhaps
egg whites beat higher or cakes rise better or any thing???

Cakes rise higher, and faster, but they also fall just as fast because
of that. So high altitude baking is an art in itself. Water
evaporates faster here, and that plays a role in baking.

I am trying to figure out high altitude baking myself...so far it has
been trial and error.

Christine

"ChattyCathy" wrote in message
. ..
Heh. I am talking store-bought (dried?) spaghetti here.... so sue me!

The cooking "destructions" say that it should be cooked in boiling
(salted) water (with a tablespoon of oil added to the water) for 10-12
minutes...

Yeah right!

Mine always takes *at least* 25 minutes before it's "al dente" i.e. it's
not "soggy".
And yes, before anyone asks, the water is *boiling* the whole time...

Uhhh...10-12 minutes? 25 minutes? I generally use angel hair or fine pasta
and it takes perhaps 3 to 4 minutes to make it the way I like it, and I am
guessing that regular sphaghetti would take 6 to 8 minutes, as my guideline
for cooking pasta is to take the time it says on the package and subtract 3
or 4 minutes from that.

Brian Christiansen

"Goomba38" wrote in message
. ..
Omelet wrote:

Because she _likes_ to tell people what they can and cannot do.

We always break pasta noodles in 1/2 to make them easier to eat.

Really long noodles make for too big of a bite and are a pain in the ass,
unless you have a really big mouth!

Oh.

Nevermind.

eg

And breaking them up is perhaps the way one eats children's food and
should be outgrown once out of the nursery

You might be funny if your blood pressure weren't so high. I would really
hate to be you, but I would hate to be your child even more. Talk about
a bundle of neuroses waiting to bloom. Poor things.

In article ,
ChattyCathy wrote:

The pot I use holds about 3.5-4 liters of water (just a guesstimate) -
which I fill up to about 2/3 ; just so that it doesn't "boil over" onto
the stove-top - and I only cook about 200g (less than half a pound) of
dried pasta at a time... I have a much bigger pot - holds twice at much
water.... and cooking the same amount of pasta in a lot more water still
has the same results...

As others have stated, it's the altitude. I live at 4300 feet and
cooking times on dried pasta don't even come close to any type of pasta
that anyone would want to eat at sea level. What is surprising is that
the time required isn't thirty seconds more or a couple of minutes more.
It's many minutes more than sea level.

leo

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 09:42:16 -0700, sf wrote:

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:16:52 +0200, ChattyCathy
wrote:

OK - one other thing - we live at an altitude of approx. 1600 meters
(about 5000 feet) above sea level - so our water boils at a little under
100 Deg C. Wonder if that has anything to do with it??

Altitude is your problem!

Agreed !
We're at 4500' and it takes forever to boil pasta.
( twice as long to boil "bow-ties )

.....and baking results can be iffy too.


rj

"Brian Christiansen" wrote

I generally use angel hair or fine pasta and it takes perhaps 3 to 4
minutes to make it the way I like it

I love angel hair. We rarely eat anything else these days.

"RJ" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 09:42:16 -0700, sf wrote:

On Sun, 30 Sep 2007 18:16:52 +0200, ChattyCathy
wrote:

OK - one other thing - we live at an altitude of approx. 1600 meters
(about 5000 feet) above sea level - so our water boils at a little under
100 Deg C. Wonder if that has anything to do with it??

Altitude is your problem!

Agreed !
We're at 4500' and it takes forever to boil pasta.
( twice as long to boil "bow-ties )

....and baking results can be iffy too.

Better than results be thenny.

"Pandora" wrote in message
...

"Pandora" ha scritto nel messaggio
...

I don't know Ronzoni pasta, but I have seen your link and I thank you.
But they don't have this:
Spaghetti alla chitarra (De Cecco brand) ...GNAM GNAM; and YUM YUM
Look: they are called maccheroni alla chitarra but they are only quared
spaghetti DD

Sorry the link is this:
http://www.dececco.it/base_semola.as...pologia=1&ID=8

cheers
Pandora

I am under the impression that it is called this because of the (chitarra)
'guitar' equipment cutting the pasta. Isn't a chitarra a guitar, and what
Italians used to use to cut the pasta into spaghetti springs?

Goomba38 wrote:
Puester wrote:

Since I spent the first half of my years at sea level, this knowledge
came at the price of much frustration until I got used to all kinds of
high altitude cooking. Yes, baking is different, also, and
candy-making is VERY difficult here.

Happy cooking,
gloria p

Interesting! Conversely, does the high altitude *help* anything? Perhaps
egg whites beat higher or cakes rise better or any thing???


Yes, egg whites beat a bit higher and baking powder or soda baked goods
rise easier, but tend to collapse easier also. Most recipes adjust for
this by adding a few Tbsp of additional flour. Interestingly I've heard
that sugar in those items gets more concentrated so "from scratch" cakes
call for a small reduction in both sugar and leavening.

Next time you see a box cake mix, look on the package for "high altitude
adjustment". They all have it but it's something you don't pay
attention to until it affects you. I received a cookbook last Christmas
called something like "Pie in the Sky" with high altitude recipes.
Since I haven't experienced problems with baking, I don't know how well
the recipes work.

gloria p

"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"Brian Christiansen" wrote

I generally use angel hair or fine pasta and it takes perhaps 3 to 4
minutes to make it the way I like it

I love angel hair. We rarely eat anything else these days.

I used to wonder what the attraction was for angel hair; when I do have it
now, I really like it, but I can't recall what I've used it for.
Cappellini is similar, is it not. I will use it, too.

Is there any particular type of 'something' you like to mix in with it, or
put on top?
Dee Dee

In article ,
ChattyCathy wrote:


OK - one other thing - we live at an altitude of approx. 1600 meters
(about 5000 feet) above sea level - so our water boils at a little under
100 Deg C. Wonder if that has anything to do with it??


8-10 minutes for us, 6-8 minutes for the thin stuff (which I like
better). We live 17 feet above sea level. I'll bet if you stuck a
thermometer in your boiling water, you'd find that it wasn't that close
to 100C. If 25 minutes is what it takes, so be it. I little planning
and recipe alteration is all it takes.

Christine Dabney wrote:
O

I am trying to figure out high altitude baking myself...so far it has
been trial and error.

Christine


Christine:

Altitude adjustment for baking/cooking information on the Colorado State
University website:

http://www.cerc.colostate.edu/titles/P41.html

But sometimes ya just gotta figure it out for your own kitchen.
;-)

gloria p

"Dee Dee" wrote in message
...

"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"Brian Christiansen" wrote

I generally use angel hair or fine pasta and it takes perhaps 3 to 4
minutes to make it the way I like it

I love angel hair. We rarely eat anything else these days.

I used to wonder what the attraction was for angel hair; when I do have it
now, I really like it, but I can't recall what I've used it for.
Cappellini is similar, is it not. I will use it, too.

Is there any particular type of 'something' you like to mix in with it, or
put on top?
Dee Dee

I just put the same stuff on it that I put on regular spaghetti (regular
spaghetti sauce with lots of mushrooms added), I just like it better because
it is thinner.

BTW, I live at ~2500 ft., which I don't really consider "high altitude," but
in most cook books I have seen, the demarcation line is 2000 ft. I also
have cooked pasta at ~5000 ft. (Socorro, NM, approximately the same
elevation as Albuquerque, NM), and it didn't take anywhere near 25 minutes.

Brian Christiansen

Brian Christiansen