On 02/03/2012 2:51 PM, James Silverton wrote:

>> It's a strange post alright. Even little kids and high school dropouts
>> know what happens when you heat water up. :-)
>
> Yes, steam is coming off boiling water whether a lid is on the pot or
> not. I think a pot of water will come to a boil faster with the lid on
> since not so much heat escapes but it doesn't seem to make a lot of
> difference.


Maybe it depends on how much water you are heating up. From my
experience, it doesn't seem to make much difference if you are just
heating up a small amount but it does seem to heat up faster if heating
larger amounts. The lid retains most of the heat. The heat is coming
from the bottom and when it is released at the top it isn't going to
have as much effect on the water below it, though it does raise the
ambient temperature.

One thing to keep in mind is that when you are trying to simmer
something, you can get a nice simmer going with the lid off. When you
put the lid on that simmer increases to a boil without adjusting the burner.