Scampi is the Italian word for a prawn. It is also the name of an Italian-American dish called shrimp scampi that makes regular appearances on American restaurant menus and refers to broiled butterflied shrimp that have been brushed with garlic butter or oil (and sometimes a splash of white wine). American shrimp scampi is served over pasta or with bread to sop up the juices.
The Brits make their own typically health-unconscious version of scampi -- battered, deep-fried shelled tail meat that is eaten with tartar sauce.
Poaching, simmering and boiling are at heart identical cooking methods that in practice yield a variety of results. All that distinguishes one from the other is that each marks a different temperature stage in the process of bringing water to a boil.
As a pot of water heats, the water molecules near the bottom of the pot warm up first. As they get hotter, they move faster. Eventually, they move fast enough to rise toward the surface of the water, where they displace the cooler molecules up above, forcing them to fall to the bottom of the pot, where they in turn are heated and begin to rise.
Ultimately, the water gets hot enough to vaporize the molecules at the bottom of the pot into steam. Because steam is less dense than water, it rises, causing the surface of the water to swirl. This slight movement on the surface of the water is the visual sign that the water is ready for poaching (between 170 and 180F).
When enough steam forms, bubbles at the edge of the pot begin to break through the surface into a simmer (180 to 190F). When bubbles undulate across the entire surface of the water, it is said to be at a gentle boil (210F). And in just 2 more degrees, the surface of the water will break turbulently, cascading with large vigorous bubbles. This stage is called a rolling boil.
It is possible to stop the progression to a rolling boil by reducing the heat as the visual signs for poaching or simmering approach. You know you've got the burner just right when the water maintains the signs of any stage for a full minute. When you add food, the water temperature will drop, but don't turn up the heat. The water should return to the proper temperature within a minute. If it does not, you may have overcrowded the pot with too much food.
How to boil water at high (and low) altitudes
How to boil water at high (and low) altitudes
We tend to think of the boiling point of water as a constant 212F (100C), but that temperature is only the amount of energy it takes to boil water at sea level. As elevation rises, the amount of air pressing down on the surface of the water decreases, and the less energy it takes to make the water boil, with the result that the water boils at a lower temperature.
The lower temperature of boiling water at high altitudes causes several changes in how food cooks:
• Boiling pasta, potatoes, beans, and other starchy foods takes about 10 percent longer for every 1,000 feet (305 m) of elevation.
• Braised meats are more succulent, because less moisture is squeezed from the coagulating proteins at a lower simmering temperature, but they may need slightly more time to cook.
For every thousand feet (305 m) of elevation, the boiling point reduces by about 2F (1C). Even a low-pressure weather front can lower the boiling point, or a high-pressure front could raise the boiling point by a degree or two.
The following chart shows how a change in altitude affects the boiling point of water and the cooking of common ingredients:
Altitude Above Sea Level
Boiling Point
Vegetables (increase cooking time by)
Stewing and Braising (increase cooking time by)
Roasting (increase cooking temperature by)
3,000 ft
206°F
20 to 30%
30 minutes
10 to 25°F
5,000 ft
202°F
40 to 50%
1 hour
20 to 30°F
7,000 ft+
198°F
60 to 70%
2 to 3 hours
30 to 50°F
If you go in the opposite direction, below sea level, there is more air sitting on the surface of the water and the boiling point goes up. Since there is not much dry land that lies below sea level, increasing the boiling point of water by increasing atmospheric pressure most often happens artificially in a pressure cooker. Pressure cookers speed up cooking by trapping the steam escaping from boiling water, thereby building up pressure on the surface, and raising the boiling point.
In a pressure cooker, the combination of the increased temperature and air pressure forces heat into ingredients faster, thereby reducing cooking times by as much as 70 percent. Soaked dried beans can take as little as 10 minutes to cook through in a pressure cooker. A pot roast that would braise for 3 hours using conventional cooking methods will take less than an hour in a pressure cooker. Because there is less evaporation in pressure cooking, the amount of liquid used for a soup, stews, or braised meat should be reduced by about 60 percent.
