to lid or not to lid -- it may not even be a question

My brother and I have a running dispute.

A dispute that does not get tarted up in moral dudgeon. Like wearing a mask or eating horse or, the most contentious of all, whether to put pineapple on a pizza.

But it is a very common disagreement amongst people of good will. Whether to put a lid on a pot of water set to boil.

While working on a highway project sometime in the 1990s, my brother lived with me at my Salem house for just under a year. One evening I came home from work and he was in the kitchen preparing pasta. The pasta pot, filled with water, was on the stove waiting to boil.

Out of habit, I grabbed the lid and put it on the pot. He just looked at me with that "And Are You Going To Vote Socialist Next?" stare -- and took off the lid. I almost put the lid back on, but I decided there was no sense in two guys with control issues starting a war over a lid.

It turns out Darrel and I are not alone. The divide between lid users and going commando is about as wide as the proponents on both sides of the Filioque controversy. Cooking shows are populated with fierce advocacy on what should go on top of a pot and when. Who knew?

I thought about Darrel this morning while reading a post on the "Gringos Ajijic and Lakeside" Facebook group. For context, it may help to know that Lake Chapala (where Ajijic and Lakeside are located) is over 5000 feet above sea level -- or 1538 meters for those of you who do not take the King's shilling.  

Dale Robertson posted a query:

Here’s a question I haven’t seen asked before: how long does it take to boil a pot of water for cooking spaghetti??  I’ve got about 3 quarts of water going on high flame (lpg stove) and it’s been 45 minutes and still no rolling boil.  The water is hot by now but not boiling. Just wondering if I need to open another bottle of wine while waiting for the spaghetti to be ready.

He received the usual mix of responses. Some clever quips about focusing more on the wine than the water. Some jibes from The First Spouses Club that verged on scolding -- you must be doing something wrong.

But some took the question seriously enough to provide answers. And the top two were predictable. Add salt to the water and, the Darrel controversy, use a lid. My favorite response to one lid comment was: "Oh, sure ... Take my husband's side."

You already know I am an advocate of using lids to cut the time to bring water to a boil. It makes sense to me, from a logical standpoint, that the heat escaping from the surface of the water should be captured to assist the temperature to reach its boiling point of 212 degrees. (I think I heard someone in the back row say "100.")

I long ago learned that I was using the wrong logic. Even though some heat may dissipate in the water vapor as the temperature of the water increases, the physics equation is whether the buildup of heat from its source is sufficient to counter the loss of heat in the water vapor.

But don't take my word for it. There are scientific studies to back up the theory. Iowa State University has conducted an exhaustive study on the topic: Impact of Pot Lids on Home Energy Use. I will not ruin your fun by reciting the full study because I know you all want to read it yourself over your morning coffee. Suffice it to say, the study gives ammunition for the lid crowd (Yay, for my team), scant though it is (Boo). 

So, I decided to do my own study in the Mexpatriate Test Kitchen, which is located as close to sea level without boarding a kayak in our bay.

I poured four cups of water into a sauce pan (without salt) and turned the propane on high. With a lid, it took 5 minutes 59 seconds for the water to come to a raging boil. Because I am a lid believer, I was positive there would be an appreciable difference when I cooled down the same pan, poured in another four cups of water, and set the propane on high. But this time with no lid.

The result? It took longer to boil than the lidded pan. But just as the Iowa State study found, the difference was slight. It boiled in 6 minutes, 21 seconds.

I do not know about you, but there are few hills on which I will die. And wearing a mask, eating horse, putting pineapple on pizza, AND lidding up are not amongst the breaking points in my life. As far as the boiling water goes, I would simply waste those 22 seconds doing something unproductive, any way.

So, Darrel, I will concede the 22 seconds to you. Wear them in good health. But I will continue using my lids on boil duty -- if only because I am a creature of habit. Oh, yes, and wearing my mask where appropriate -- see the reasoning above.

As for eating pineapple on my pizza and horse on my plate, you will just need to guess my preferences. I can only handle one boiling controversy each day.