I would agree with you....first time I cooked at 5000 feet I wondered about all the hype....but then a few years later the family rented a condo in Breckenridge at about 9,500.....and there was a lot of difference!
Hard boiled eggs took forever....first time I sent some 20 minute eggs with the skiiers for lunch was not good! But home made bread hopped right up, however boiled potatoes fell apart before they cooked . No difference in soups and stews and roast turkey nor ham, steaks, burgers etc. I finally caved and bought brownie mix for high altitude...afterall we were on vacation!

I'm so glad to hear it, Ricky! That would have been an awful lot to relearn...

I have to say, though, that I've noticed a big heat and timing difference camping at 4500' compared to sea level. I wonder if the kicker is modern appliances? Maybe your oven compensates somewhat for the pressure difference. I mean, not directly since it isn't a pressure oven, but perhaps with temperature accuracy. Something the ol' camp stove doesn't have...

I would suggest that the "big difference in heat and timing" is 90% due to cooking on a camp stove rather than a real stove.
How could altitude account for a change in heat?
I trust you have never driven from Omaha to Denver....and passed through Lincoln, Grand Island, Kearney, North Platte, Ogalalla and on to Brush and Sterling. The flattest country known to a bored traveller, yet you will have climbed about 4000 feet. I am pretty darn sure that the people living in Brush, on the flat flat prairie/range country don't consider recipes for high altitude cooking.
Mt Tom, a prime ski area in Mass. is a little over 1000 feet, Stowe VT under 1000 feet elevation. As far as cooking is concerned, you won't even notice the first 5000 feet...but the next 5000 begin to need changes in your methods.

Linda, that might be true if I weren't comparing the same camp stove to itself! And on multiple occasions (no, it's not a fuel issue). The altitude doesn't affect heat per se, but it does seem to affect combustion and the transfer of heat to the food.

My point was that while I totally believe you that there isn't a big change to 4000 feet, and Ricky that his recipes aren't affected at around 5300', there can be a noticeable difference at 4500-5000' since I've noticed it.

We have a cabin at 3500 feet and everything takes longer to bake than it does at sea level at the same temp. I have checked oven temps with a thermometer.

The burners run hotter than at sea level. That being said, I believe the stove has a lot to do with it. We have a gas kitchen stove at the cabin which runs on propane and an electric stove at home.

Cooking on a propane BBQ grill takes longer at the cabin but again it is not the same make and model grill that we have at home.

In any case, the end results are similar but the cooking times differ. I've just learned over the years to adapt.

I'm at 6500 feet. I find that cooking is a process that has many variables and altitude is only one of those variables. As far as baking, I have found that I have to watch yeasted breads a little more closely during the rise time and that is about it. Much of what I bake is gluten free which has its own share of difficulties and variables. My ovens are electric. I have far more difficulties with the way the dry air affects the baked goods.

Now, my cooktop is natural gas. When we bought it, it was calibrated for high altitude. I have no clue as to the science behind it or what that even means. I can say the biggest difference I notice with cooking at altitude is that boiled potatoes take longer/forever as do dried beans. Actually, even baked potatoes take a while so I nuke them first and then finish in the toaster oven/microwave. A pressure cooker helps for mashed potatoes.

Granted, my philosophy about cooking is that observation and experience are what can make the biggest difference and that is true at any altitude. Adjusting the leavening, temperature, moisture, etc. automatically is just more work than I am willing to put in unless something looks off.

I've cooked at 7400' in Mexico City, and I did notice a difference, especially with yeast. Also, they cook beans in a pressure cooker there, but then I also do that at sea level. I'm at 105' now (thanks to the Westchester bluffs), but in Venice I was at 10' and in a tsunami zone. I'm out of the tsunami zone now, and so I am less worried about global warming flooding my neighborhood.

In Mexico City when I made pizza dough, I neglected to adjust for the altitude, and the dough rose much faster and higher than I expected. There are no gas lines in Mexico City, and so everyone has their own gas tank (not sure what kind) that the gas company comes and fills. My parents had the same situation but that was because they were on a farm and somewhat remote (I guess), but anyway the gas lines did not go to their house, and they had a huge propane tank that got filled about once a year. Mexico City does not have gas lines because of earthquakes, but we have them in Los Angeles.

I used to camp at 12.500 ft in Wyoming. I could put my hand in boiling water and not get burned. And yes, cooking of boiled eggs or potatoes in a stew were problematical...never really got done :) There is a bit of truth to the higher elevations.

From research (just now), water would boil at 196 F at that elevation...I wonder if something else affects the ability of water to burn skin..you'd think even though that's 20F less, it would still hurt.

"----From research (just now), water would boil at 196 F at that elevation...I wonder if something else affects the ability of water to burn skin..you'd think even though that's 20F less, it would still hurt.---"

At that elevation, water evaporates quicker and cools down quicker.

dcarch