Which boils faster: hot water or cold? We have the answer

The Chatelaine Kitchen is a very dynamic place. On any given day it is as much a laboratory and reference library as it is a kitchen. Our work often reveals answers to some common kitchen misconceptions. So, I thought we should share some of our recent and useful findings with you.

Green onions vs. scallions You say scallion, I say green onion, but are they the same? My conclusion is yes. If you consult a typical seed catalogue you will not find a listing for either green onions or scallions. Instead both are classified as “bunching onions,” which is a variety of onion that can be eaten in an immature state. So, what is often referred to as a “green onion” refers to young “bunching onions” that have a bulb at the bottom - even just a slight bulb. Scallions have the same characteristics however are more slender and lack the round bulb. This suggests that scallions are simply green onions picked earlier, before a bulb forms. The Chatelaine Kitchen uses the term “green onion”, which are particularly delicious in our Asian Flatbread.

A spatula is a spatula is a spatula: Do you scrape a bowl with a spatula? Do you flip your pancakes with a spatula? Which is it? At risk of revealing my bias, I have personally never flipped anything with a spatula. But in fairness to those who feel they have, this required further investigation. Terms often used to describe spatula include: flat; flexible; and broad. Its uses include: mixing; scraping; spreading; and lifting. In all my research I could not find a case where its listed uses included flipping.  In the case of off-set spatulas, while they are often used as flippers, their actual purpose is to lift and spread. Granted the word spatula has become a catch-all phrase for many kitchen tools, let it stand that a spatula will help you mix your cake batter, scrape it into the pan, spread the icing on top and lift a slice of cake to serve – but it should not flip a pancake!

The fastest way to bring a pot of water to a boil Many have claimed that a pot of water will come to a boil faster if you start with cold water. This claim, both perplexing and intriguing, required further investigation. In turn, I performed five tests using the same pot and the same burner to see how long it would take for 2 cups of tap water to come to a boil. Here are my results:

• 2 cups cold water: 4 ½ min
• 2 cups hot water: 3 ½ min
• 2 cups cold water lid on: 3 ¾ min
• 2 cups hot water lid on: 3 min

So having concluded that the fastest way to boil water seems to be to use hot water with the lid on I decided to tackle one more claim: that adding salt will speed up the boiling process.

I added ½ tsp salt to 2 cups hot water over high heat with the lid on. My result was 3 ¼ mins, so 15 seconds slower than without the salt. Adding salt actually increases the boiling point, therefore taking longer to boil. The Chatelaine Kitchen omits salt from the boiling process for our pasta recipes, saving you the sodium levels, as well as a few seconds every day.Try it: Creamy spinach and artichoke baked pasta or Mediterranean linguine with shrimp and feta.

Originally published November 4th, 2011.