Brings the temperature up fast so you can then put it on simmer and let it be, I suppose. Have you ever put a pot of anything on low heat and let it come to a simmer? It takes a long time, sometimes a half-hour or longer.

Also, some recipes are timed according to those instructions ie, bring to boil, reduce to simmer 7 minutes, etc. It's a way to help transfer one persons experience to another person. Of course timing should be a guideline anyway, not something set in stone.

michaelp

Dear changeling,

I'm no expert on this, but I agree with anney's answer. Bringing a mixture to a boil before reducing to a simmer is just a quicker way to get where you're going.

With a few things (rice, oatmeal, grits for example), I've always assumed that a quick burst of high heat was necessary to sort of break things open so that they could begin cooking. But this is strictly (uninformed) conjecture on my part. Maybe some food chemist can weigh in and give us the real skinny.

I hope you will not be offended if I tell you that your posts often make me laugh out loud. (I assure you I am laughing *with* you rather than *at* you.) You remind me so much of a younger me -- struggling to make sense out of poor directions, arcane references, things that weren't explained in cookbooks because they assumed 'everybody knows' -- only I didn't.

Just keep plugging, changeling. You're making great progress, and it will soon come clear!

Although I am not the caliber of cook that many on this website are, nobody here ever got sick. :) Besides, I know the answers to all the dumb questions because I already asked them myself. My greatest joy these days is helping my two new DIL's learn how to prepare good meals. Although neither had much experience, they're doing beautifully! If you want to join our cyber-cooking class, we'd be delighted to have you. You can email me at memphismomathotmaildotcom.

sm

I have blown so many recipes because of someone leaving out little things, or me not wanting to seem like a complete idiot so i didn't ask, well that's over with!
Woodie2 just gave me a recipe for chili that I have been trying to master for several years now that is awesome!!
10 minutes reading, 20 minutes putting everything together and WAM, awesome!
So, sm, I know exactly what you are talking about!

anney, yes I have!

I was shown how to make Manhattan clam chowder/gumbo depending on your point of view by putting everything together in the pot and NOT letting it come to a boil because it has potatoes in it from the start cut into about 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces.
If you brought this to a boil and lowered and simmered the potatoes would loose there firm texture and basically fall apart or become blah.
By not letting it come to a boil they remain semi firm (just right) through the whole cooking process. It's just one of those things I happen to know and I cook this dish on a fairly regular basis. From start to finish it never should reach past a medium simmer. It takes a while but the results are worth it for me.

Good question! Can I have the recipe for that Manhattan chowder/gumbo? I'm lactose intolerant and love the tomato based chowder.
Thanks!

Compumom,

That must be difficult, the lactose intolerance. I always loved Manhattan clam chowder, but when I moved to New England as a young bride my husband's family taught me that the only clam chowder is milk/cream based.

I have a cartoon that I cut a long time ago from the Cape Codder newspaper showing two women sitting in a jail cell. One asks the other what she's in there for and the reply: "I put tomatoes in my quahog chowder!"

seagrass

LOL, I thought you were invited to a crab/fish boil and wanted to know what to bring as a side dish?
:)

lpink, that's what I thought too! Must have been those couple of years in Maine....

When I went to crawfish boils in Houston and Louisiana, I never brought anything - the host/hostess already had all the ingredients. I would sometimes bring wine or beer, however.

As for simmering liquids, I bring almost everything I simmer to a boil before I turn down the heat to let it simmer. The one exception to this is pasta sauce because I don't like to have to stir it constantly. In addition to rice, oatmeal, and grits, I always bring beans to a boil before simmering. The only soups I make that have potatoes are vichyssoise and lentil soup. I'm not a big potato person, but I'm trying to use them more, although I stick mainly to the small or new Yukon Golds.

Lars