Yesterday I had another of those "why I know I'm a science dork" moments.
I was cooking a 3 lbs ham in our oven. For those who don't know, you cook ham by putting it in a glass baking pan, add a cup of water, and covering it in tin foil. Then you cook it for 20 minutes per pound at 325 degrees.
Ok, so now that we have that out of the way, here is the nerdy science part:
- The temperature inside the oven is above the boiling point of water (212 degrees)
- The ham is sitting in a glass container and surrounded by tin foil. Both conduct heat very well.
- The ham was in the oven for an hour and 20 minutes.
- When I took the ham out, there was still a lot of water in the bottom of the pan.
So my nerdy science question is "why didn't all the water boil away?"
I have no idea. But the fact that I even thought it tells me that I must be a science dork.
5 years ago
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2 comments:
Oohhhhh I love science questions.
It's hard to tell if the water did or didn't boil away. Was the foil a perfect seal or a 'good enough' seal? I assume that some of it did. Especially if you could smell the ham cooking.
Quick explanation, the water does boil, but at the same time it collects on the Ham and the inside surfaces (Pan and Foil) where it can collect and reform as water.
Deeper explanation, 212 F is the boiling point of water, however that doesn't mean that it simply evaporates when it reaches that level. Energy must be spent to complete the phase transformation from liquid to Gaseous. Subtract that efficiency by the amount gas returning to liquid.
Lastly, you have more than 1 cup of water in the "system". The ham has its own water. How much? I don't know, but it can contribute to the moat at the bottom of the pan.
haha. too funny.
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