High altitude

High altitude presents several challenges when preparing some foods. First, leavened products, using either yeast, baking powder, baking soda, egg whites or steam, rise more rapidly and often collapse. Second, foods such as vegetables and stews cooked with moist heat take much longer to prepare. Atmospheric (air) pressure is 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi) at sea level; at 5,000 ft altitude, it is 12.28 psi; and at 10,000 ft, 10.2 psi. The relationship is inverse: the higher the elevation, the lower the air pressure. At higher altitudes then, air pressure is less on both leavened products and the surface of boiling liquids.

As atmospheric pressure decreases, water boils at lower temperatures. At sea level, it boils at 212°F while each 500-ft increase in altitude causes a drop of about 1° in the boiling point. At very high altitudes, boiling water is relatively “cool.” Since heat, not boiling, cooks foods at higher altitudes, more time is required for food to reach the desired internal cooking temperature. Low humidity, not necessarily an altitude factor but certainly a reality in New Mexico, causes ingredients such as flour to dry out and may produce dry, crumbly baked products. The following guidelines will reduce the number of baking failures or partially cooked foods frequently experienced by those living at high altitudes with low humidity