How to Boil Water.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 8, 20 February 1902, Page 7

How to Boil Water.

It may seem presumptuous to suggest that few people know how to boil water, but such is the case. The boiling- point, under ordinary atmospheric pressure (sea level), is 212 degrees Fahrenheit ; thia point changes according to the altitude. When bubbles form on the bottom of the kettle, come clear to the surface and rupture quietly, without an ebullition, we have simmering. At this point the thermometer should register 180 degrees Fahrenheit, and it is all this temperature that we cook meats and make soups. When the bubblea begin to form on the sides and surface ot the vessel and come towards the top of the water, there is a motion in the water, but it has not really reached the boiling point. It is only when the thermometer reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit and the water is in rapid motion that it can be said to boil ; and the atmuspherio gases still continue to be given off with the steam for a considerable time after the water has commenced to boil rapidly ; in fact, it is difficult to determine when thu last traces have been expelled. It is s.ife to suppose, however, that ten minutes' boiling will free the water from gases, making it tasteless, and rendering it unfit for the making of ten, coffee, or other light effusions or delicate, materials.