Even if you thought you chose a pot enceinte enough to keep yourpastawater contained , it might still end up boiling over . This , as Gizmodoexplains , is because starch molecules from the alimentary paste seep into the water and make the bubbles extra uncompromising . Those bubble organize a thick layer of foam across the surface of the pot , preventing steam from scarper and finally get a little blast of water all over your stove .
An oft - mentionedhackfor avoiding this is to balance a wooden spoon across the top of the passel . Somehow , its thin handgrip preserve the foam from reaching uncontrollable height . Unsurprisingly , there ’s a picayune scientific discipline behind this phenomenon .
As Simplemostreports , it mainly has to do with two of woodwind instrument ’s most notable quality : It ’s good at absorbing water , and it ’s forged at conducting heat .
“ If the bubble relate the colder and drier forest , these [ starch ] molecules break their chemical chain and the house of cards flare-up , which releases the steam from inside the bubble,”Michelle Dickinson , a biomedical and materials technologist and the author ofThe Kitchen Science Cookbook , told Simplemost .
In other words , the surface tension keeping each house of cards inviolate is no match for the woodwind instrument ; and when the bubbles touching the spoon burst , that natural action will also cause the house of cards touching those bubble to burst . Because a wooden spoon is much more absorptive and heat - tolerant than , say , a metallic element spoon , it ’ll assist keep froth at bay for long than a metal utensil would .
That said , even a wooden spoon may finally get so warm and water - log that it’llstopinterfering with the rise of the foam . Other ways to forbid boil - overincludeturning the heat down so it ’s just above a boil or choosing a truly monumental pot . Or , instead of a wooden spoonful over the control surface , you could always render a two - by - four .
[ h / tSimplemost ]
