Great post! We live at almost 10,000 ft in NM. Food has been an interesting struggle. One of my favorite thins has been a pressure cooker. They are really helpful at high altitude. Makes a lot of things much easier— pork loin with green chile, beans, etc. Oh and I make a lot of cornbread— it’s easy and a lot more robust than fussing with bread when that seems too much.
Chemistry nerd here - love this post! I live below 3,000 feet elevation, so I just give things like pasta an extra minute in the heavily salted boiling water or just taste test to check. I've heard the perfect HB egg is challenging to master in any elevation, so congrats! (I only ever eat them crumbled on a Cobb salad.) I've been wondering about how the dry air affects things too, like the weight of a measured cup of flour. I love that they challenged chefs at high altitude for TV!
Apr 18, 2022·edited Apr 18, 2022Liked by Kelton Wright
Best lead paragraph I've read in a long while—bravo :-). I am envious of your hard boiled eggs. Here in our home at 9K', we have tried every tip ever given, and it's still hit or miss whether the egg will peel well or whether the shells will stick. Boil vs. steam; add baking soda or not; older eggs vs. day-old eggs (our eggs are fresh from our chickens) ... tried them all. We've settled on steaming as the way to maximize our chances of having an egg that will peel as you described in your intro.
I wonder too if sometimes it's the eggs themselves, surely it must be. They're the main uncontrolled variable here. But try this recipe! Maybe shave a minute off cook time and see - could work!
This was fun! You high altitude dwellers are champions. Also, I'd love a scoop of that pie and a few of Ben's homemade cinnamon rolls right about now, thank you very much!
An oscar for the funniest boiled egg description ! Hahaha that bit got me hooked and every word after that was more and more fascinating ! I live at 4000 feet and never thought much about this topic, but now I wonder if that may be the explanation to my string of failed soufflés.... Your writing is truly hot.
I used to bake cakes for local restaurants at 10,000 feet. I used exclusively egg white leavened French cakes with buttercream and meringue frostings. They turned out far better than they do when I try to duplicate the high altitude results in middle Tennessee.
My virtual pie baking workshops on Zoom have folks baking at various high altitudes and it’s fun for all participants to watch and learn as we troubleshoot and adjust. You may find Susan Purdy’s book “Pie in the Sky: Successful Baking at High Altitudes” helpful. My trusty inherited 1963 GE fridge gave up after 58 years.
Great post! We live at almost 10,000 ft in NM. Food has been an interesting struggle. One of my favorite thins has been a pressure cooker. They are really helpful at high altitude. Makes a lot of things much easier— pork loin with green chile, beans, etc. Oh and I make a lot of cornbread— it’s easy and a lot more robust than fussing with bread when that seems too much.
We haven't tried a pressure cooker yet — that could be a fun experiment!
Chemistry nerd here - love this post! I live below 3,000 feet elevation, so I just give things like pasta an extra minute in the heavily salted boiling water or just taste test to check. I've heard the perfect HB egg is challenging to master in any elevation, so congrats! (I only ever eat them crumbled on a Cobb salad.) I've been wondering about how the dry air affects things too, like the weight of a measured cup of flour. I love that they challenged chefs at high altitude for TV!
I didn’t even think about the dry air. It makes sense it would have an impact - I mean it has an impact on my skin 😂😂. Further investigation needed!
I know where the porks “chips” taste is from.
Still love them with an applesauce dip.
Best lead paragraph I've read in a long while—bravo :-). I am envious of your hard boiled eggs. Here in our home at 9K', we have tried every tip ever given, and it's still hit or miss whether the egg will peel well or whether the shells will stick. Boil vs. steam; add baking soda or not; older eggs vs. day-old eggs (our eggs are fresh from our chickens) ... tried them all. We've settled on steaming as the way to maximize our chances of having an egg that will peel as you described in your intro.
I wonder too if sometimes it's the eggs themselves, surely it must be. They're the main uncontrolled variable here. But try this recipe! Maybe shave a minute off cook time and see - could work!
This was fun! You high altitude dwellers are champions. Also, I'd love a scoop of that pie and a few of Ben's homemade cinnamon rolls right about now, thank you very much!
Coming right up haha <3
Brave to leave Cali for this new life. I’m spoiled with 6 cool grocery stores within 2 mikes of me here in the Bay Area. At least you get Internet!
In fact, we have two internets just in case hahah
That’s funny! I live in Silicon Valley & sometimes mine is off. We never have it all! Sounds like you & hubby have exactly what you need!
I love this post so much.
Appreciate you reading!
I loved this. You had me at egg hat and pants. 🥚⏲
I couldn't be happier it landed.
An oscar for the funniest boiled egg description ! Hahaha that bit got me hooked and every word after that was more and more fascinating ! I live at 4000 feet and never thought much about this topic, but now I wonder if that may be the explanation to my string of failed soufflés.... Your writing is truly hot.
Hahah, thank you! I wonder about the soufflés! Worth trying an altitude recipe to see if the air is the culprit.
I used to bake cakes for local restaurants at 10,000 feet. I used exclusively egg white leavened French cakes with buttercream and meringue frostings. They turned out far better than they do when I try to duplicate the high altitude results in middle Tennessee.
Interesting! Hmm maybe we should try that.
My virtual pie baking workshops on Zoom have folks baking at various high altitudes and it’s fun for all participants to watch and learn as we troubleshoot and adjust. You may find Susan Purdy’s book “Pie in the Sky: Successful Baking at High Altitudes” helpful. My trusty inherited 1963 GE fridge gave up after 58 years.
58 years! A mastodon of refrigeration! Thanks for the suggestion — to the library!
Yup, she was a champ! Really enjoying your newsletter, too.
Co-signed on Pie in the Sky! I started an in-house baking company when I lived in Colorado Springs, and Purdy’s recommendations were so useful.
OK, but in-house baking company? This sounds very cool.
7000' in Utah. The flour dries out too. Everything cooks different.
An ongoing battle!
This was fascinating! I do all the cooking in our house, but we’re in Los Angeles, so the altitude isn’t really a consideration.
If you ever find yourself up here, just start cooking at 4pm and add flour to the cookie batter hah!
Ha, I can't cook or bake at sea level, never mind at elevation. Fun post....
Me and you both, friend.