FoodNet

Experimental cookery

1932

Page 42

Presented as published in 1932. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Elevation of the boiling point. The boiling point of a liquid can be elevated by increasing the pressure upon it. This may be done by pre- venting the vapor above the liquid from escaping. If a soluble substance is added to a liquid the resulting solution has a higher boiling point than the pure liquid. The pressure of a gas increases as the temperature increases. When vapor is confined, as in a pressure cooker, the boiling point of a liquid in the cooker is elevated. As the temperature is increased, the pressure of the confined vapor on the surface of the liquid is increased. Therefore a higher temperature is required to form great enough pressure in the vapor bubbles within the liquid for them to reach the surface of the liquid. 48 SUGAR COOKERY Thus the boiling point is elevated. The higher the temperature of the confined vapor the greater the pressure on the liquid. The greater the pressure on the liquid the higher the boiling point. The boiling point o£ solutions. Each gram-molecular weight (mole) of a non-ionized substance in a liter of water elevates the boiling point 0.52°C. A gram-molecular weight of a substance is its atomic or com- bined atomic weights. For example, sucrose is composed of carbon, hydro- gen, and oxygen with the formula C12H22O11. The atomic weight of carbon is 12; that of hydrogen is 1; of oxygen, 16. Thus 12 carbons, 22 hydrogens, and 1 1 oxygens give a molecular weight of 342 grams. The boiling point of a liter of water containing 342 grams of sucrose is elevated 0.52°C. Two moles of sucrose would elevate the boiling point 1.04°C. The boiling point can be elevated as long as the substance added is soluble. When the solution becomes saturated, or the point is reached at which no more can be dissolved, the boiling point is constant for substances that behave normally in solution. If boiling is continued so that the solvent is vaporized, the excess solute beyond saturation is crystallized. This is illustrated in Experiment 3 in the laboratory outline. Effect of ionized substances on the boiling point. Some sub- stances when dissolved in water are ionized. In a solution of sodium chloride, for example, not only sodium chloride molecules are found but also sodium ions and chlorine ions. NaCl :^^ ^ Na+H-Cl- The atomic weight of sodium is 23 and that of chlorine is 35. If 58 grams of sodium chloride (a mole) are added to a liter of water, and the sodium chloride is completely ionized, the boiling point will be elevated 1.04°C. The mole of sodium will elevate it 0.52° and the mole of chlorine will elevate it 0.52°. Sometimes a substance that ionizes in solution is not completely ionized. When this happens, the boiling point is elevated accord- ing to the degree of ionization. At high altitudes it is possible to cook foods more rapidly by adding salt to the cooking water. To be very effective this requires such a large quan- tity of salt that the food becomes too salty. It may be used for potatoes that are not peeled.