As I was working through some of the recipes for my college kids, it dawned on me that I didn’t really know how long it took to boil water. After some research, the answer is extremely simple: It depends.
Unfortunately it depends on:
- The size of the burner
- The size of the pot
- The type of pot you’re using (stainless steel is much less effective than copper or aluminum)
- The relationship between the size of the pot to the burner (if they match exactly in size that’s best)
- Altitude
- Whether the pot is uncovered or covered (covered always boils faster)
- The type of burner (gas, electric, propane, squirrel powered)
- The amount of water you’re trying to boil
- What percentage of the pot is filled with water
- Whether the water started out hot, cool, or cold (start with hot water and it boils faster, kind of a Duh! but I had to say it)
- Whether you’re watching the pot or not (don’t watch it, the water knows and doesn’t like to boil in front of an audience!)
Those are just the obvious variables.
In general, figure on 15-20 minutes to bring 6 quarts of water to a boil, give or take a while. Of course, a while is a very specific measure of time that we don’t have room to discuss here! So, for any recipe that says bring a pot of water to a boil figure you’re going to be doing something else for 20 minutes. Under no circumstances should you or your roommates watch the pot. That will only make the process take longer.
With all that said, you’re welcome to do your own experiments and then comment below.
