How I Learned About High Altitude Cooking Techniques and Recipes

We once took a family vacation to the Grand Canyon. Without thinking a bit about high altitude cooking techniques, I put a pot of water over a campfire and waited for it to boil....and waited....and waited. An hour and a half later, the water still hadn't boiled! That was my crash course in the differences between my usual cooking style and that needed for higher altitudes. It is not unusual for areas of the Grand Canyon to have altitudes way over 3000 feet.

Since then, we've stayed at home style inns and hotels, the kind with kitchens in them. I can now say that I know plenty about high altitude cooking. We've even had guest over to visit us and I've served meals that got compliments.

Here is some of what I've learned:

What makes an area high altitude and when recipes have to be adjusted

Generally speaking, anything above 3,000 feet falls into the high altitude cooking range. I am guess-ti-mating that we were somewhere around 7,000 feet above sea level in the area of the Grand Canyon we visited. No wonder it took so long to boil that water!

Why recipes need to be adapted for high altitude cooking

High altitudes affect the way foods cook and recipes turn out. It can be frustrating until you get the hang of it - but you can. As I learned, it can take water longer to boil. Cakes also fall more easily, potatoes can take forever to cook (like the spaghetti, especially if you boil them) and you may find the recipe that "never fails" at sea level doesn't come out the same at higher altitudes.

Why? It all has to do with the lower air pressure at those higher altitudes. This means cakes can rise more quickly and items cooked in water can take longer to cook. The higher the altitude, the more extreme the changes in food taste, cooking time and texture.

Basic high altitude cooking tips

As with anything else, practice makes perfect. I learned that some recipes which I made at sea level were just fine when cooked at higher altitudes. Still, here are some basic adjustments I often had to make. You can find more tips at this website: homecooking.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm