Boiling is a crude but quick way to cook things. Sometimes frugal living is crude! Filling a pot with water, putting it on the burner on high and waiting until the water is rolling rapidly, is boiling. Some foods require boiling – the rapid vaporization of water or other liquid. Pasta, potatoes, dumplings, spaezle, beets, turnips, rutabaga, and eggs all lend themselves to boiling. No foods, however, should be boiled at full blast, but rather simmered or boiled at a lower temperature. We will often mention ‘bring to a boil,’ which means to quickly bring the liquid up to a rapid boil, but then reduce the temperature and simmer the food.
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In our daily money saving tips, as an energy saving measure, we have mentioned that boiling many foods in the same pot is a great way to save energy when cooking, and to save water when washing up. One example is potato salad. Boil potatoes and eggs in the same pot – time the cooking for the eggs to 10 minutes and simmer the potatoes until they are ‘fork tender,’ or you can easily stick a fork into them. Remove the eggs after 10 minutes, using a slotted spoon. Remove the potatoes using a slotted spoon. When the eggs have cooled, crack the shells gently and remove, then rinse the eggs with cold water. When potatoes have cooled partially, easily remove the skins with your hands and slice. Slice the eggs. Mix the two together and season with salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, and mayonnaise, or you can make a dressing for your potato salad with what you have in the kitchen (much thriftier! This kind of thing multiplied over hundreds of tasks, is how to save money). Boiling is a breeze
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