evaporate moisture continuously. Cooks take
advantage of it when they bake delicate
preparations like custards gently by partly
immersing the containers in an open water
bath, or oven-roast meats slowly at low
temperatures, or simmer stock in an open pot.
In each case, evaporation removes energy
from the food or its surroundings and causes it
to cook more gently.
Steam Releases a Lot of Heat When It
Condenses into Water Conversely, when
water vapor hits a cool surface and condenses
into liquid water, it gives up that same high
heat of vaporization. This is why steam is
such an effective and quick way of cooking
foods compared with plain air — also a gas —
at the same temperature. We can put a hand
into an oven at 212ºF/100ºC and hold it there
for some time before it gets uncomfortably
warm; but a steaming pot will scald us in a
second or two. In bread baking, an initial blast