[Sca-cooks] high altitude cooking

Susan Lin susanrlin at gmail.com
Fri Mar 2 15:33:25 PST 2012


This is one of the reasons some of the Food Network competitions happen in
Vail.  It makes it more challenging.
I live at 5300 feet, just east of Boulder (sometimes considered the
"foothills", sometimes not).  I usually try a recipe as it is written
before making any changes.  I will tell you that yeast is far more active
at altitude.  If I would normally have used 2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (a
"packet" is between 2 1/4 and 2 1/2) I will bring it down to 2 teaspoons or
maybe even a little less.  If I'm using my bread machine (yes I use it,
sometimes for just mixing the dough, sometimes for the whole process) I
never make a 2 pound loaf - the 1 1/2 pound loaf usually fills the pan.

It's tricky up here.  humidity is also a big issue.  We are very dry here -
people think humid is 15% humidity.  Coming from upstate New York I just
laugh.
Anyone coming for KWCB - please, hydrate.  You might not notice it but you
will dehydrate much faster.  Also, breathe, full lungs.  Short breaths will
wipe you out.  If you're not used to the altitude it might take a day to
adjust.  Don't ignore the signs.  Hiking at 10,000 feet my lips turn blue
if I try to go too fast and don't breathe.

Shoshanah

On Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 4:01 PM, Stefan li Rous
<StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>wrote:

> <<< May I suggest that altitude might have some effect?  Cariadoc lives at
> sea level.  Baric lives fairly high in the mountains.  I live at 6500
> feet and find that many baking recipes that worked fine for me when I
> lived in DC simply do not work the same here in Colorado.
>
> Let me take this opportunity to note that the Cooks and Bards Collegium
> will be held at nearly 10000 feet - NOTHING is going to cook the way you
> are used to.  The difference between where I live and the collegium is
> as great as that between where Cariadoc lives and where Baric lives.
> It's a different cooking world up there.
>
> Elaina >>>
>
> Here's some previous commentary on this subject:
> high-alt-ckng-msg (10K)  9/ 5/09  Cooking medieval food and feasts at high
>                                     altitudes.
> http://www.florilegium.org/**files/FEASTS/high-alt-ckng-**msg.html<http://www.florilegium.org/files/FEASTS/high-alt-ckng-msg.html>
>
> Stefan
>
> --------
> THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
>   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas
> StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/**marksharris<http://www.linkedin.com/in/marksharris>
> **** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****
>
>
>
>
>
>
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