gently. Water at a 180ºF/80ºC simmer in a
covered pot will keep the pot atmosphere
around 180º as well, and leave the outer
portions of the meat less overdone. In China,
some dishes are steamed in open pots, where
the water vapor mixes with ambient air and
the temperature is well below the boil.
Commercial convection steamers can produce
saturated vapor all the way from body
temperature to the boil. They make it possible
for restaurant cooks to prepare moist meats
and fish with very little attention and keep
them at serving temperature until needed.
High-Pressure and Low-Pressure Cooking
While conventional cooking is limited to an
effective maximum temperature of the boiling
point of water (p. 784), the pressure cooker
allows us to raise that maximum from 212 to
250ºF/100 to 120ºC. It does so by tightly
sealing the meat and cooking liquid in the pan
and allowing the vaporizing water to build up