High Altitude

Sunrise in Denver
The mountains would turn pink, then change to golden yellow

When we lived in Denver, Colorado baking became a little tricky.  Due to the high altitude, packages tend to puff up, including yogurt lids. Newcomers would throw out yogurt thinking it had gone bad! It takes some getting used to.  These tips will help.

Did you know that water boils at 203F at 5,000 feet, rather than 212F as it does at sea level?  This is why you may find it takes longer to cook rice or pasta at high altitude.  This also explains why your tea or coffee gets cold so fast! 

Water and other liquids also evaporate faster.  This can make the sugar content higher in your recipe due to the lack of moisture, so to counter-act this, we can reduce the sugar in recipes and add moisture. 

Higher altitudes mean lower atmospheric pressure.  Chip bags look like they're going to explode, yogurt lids puff up and you can get sprayed when opening cans or bottles.  So point them away from you.

Most baking recipes are fine up to 3000 ft.  However, there are a few things that may help you convert some recipes for baking at higher altitudes.  Here's a handy chart which appeared in the Denver Post.

Adjustment                  3,000 ft                  5,000 ft                  7,000 ft

Reduce baking
powder, for each
tsp., decrease by:          1/8 tsp.               1/8 - 1/4 tsp.            1/4 tsp.

Reduce sugar,
for each cup,
decrease by:                    0-1 tbsp.              0-2 tbsp.               1-3 tbsp

Increase liquid,
for each cup,
add:                                   1-2 tbsp                2-4 tbsp             3-4 tbsp

Use extra large eggs to add more moisture.

For cakes, increase the oven temperature by 15-25 degrees to set the batter more quickly.

So don't get discouraged if your favorite recipes aren't coming out the same at higher altitudes.  Be patient and try these adjustments.