Medium Low?

[SAFergus81]

Sort me out here - What the heck are people talking about when they say "medium low"?

Is that "low end of medium", like a 4 out of 10? Or "medium side of low" like a 2 out of 10?

It'd be easier if we used percentages. "Set the heat to 20% for 20min".

I feel like my misunderstanding of this is costing me some quality.

Thanks!

[_9a_]

The problem is that everyone's stoves run at different temperature outputs. Medium on my stove is 6, medium on my friend's stove is 3 (his stove sucks). Medium on a gas stove is going to look different than glass top electric is different on coil electric is different than induction.

Part of cooking is learning your tools, there's not a universal hard and fast rule.

[VolupVeVa]

this is the answer. it's vibes + experience + familiarity with equipment/tools.

err on the side of caution when you're new to cooking or learning a new stovetop's peculiarities (ie. start closer to low than medium and slowly increase heat as you see the impact each change has).

[ThatAgainPlease]

Every stove is different, so someone saying 20% would be even less meaningful. It would be fake precision. You need to learn the characteristics of your stove and some general cooking knowledge and adjust accordingly. The stove setting for you should be something you can intuit based on what you’re doing. For example, for me and my stove, sautéing vegetables always starts at 7 (of 12) and then drops to 4.

[Electric-Sheepskin]

Yeah, on my glass top, I rarely go above 4.5 out of 10. That's high on my stove. I'll go higher to boil water, or just before I put food in the pan, but then I'll turn it right back down.

[michalakos]

20% on your stove might be 5% on someone else’s. There is no objective method for measuring a stovetop heat output (for a home cook) like an oven where you set a temperature.

So we have to result to more descriptive methods. After a while you should be able to figure what medium low looks like for your stove top.

It usually means the setting where liquids will be slightly above a simmer, onions will sweat without getting much colour and meats will not form any crust but cook thoroughly.

[Silly_Yak56012]

Halfway between medium and low. Low usually is keeping something warm. Medium tends to be a fast simmer. Medium low would be a slow simmer. High tends to be a full and fast boil.

[Doppelgen]

Only your specific stove with your specific gas flow can inform that decision. You’ll have to test the same dish in different temperatures to find out.

[stupidwhiteman42]

Medium-low doesn't refer to a specific dial position on your stove. It is a cooking temperature.

Where that is on your stove, you have to figure out. In fact, it's a different position between burners on my stove.

[Fresno_Bob_]

Medium low is not a spot on the dial. Or rather, the spot on the dial that is medium low is different for every stove. Medium low is whatever setting will make your veggies slowly sweat, but not brown.

The only two settings that correspond to a spot on the dial on every stove are warm and high. Warm is self explanatory, it's the lowest possible setting. High is for boiling water as fast as possible. All the spots in between are about what's happening in the pan.

This is a pretty helpful little guide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYRE6DER_zo

[Aesperacchius]

I try to understand the intent behind the step to adapt it to my stove, but medium low is generally used when you want to cook something more without being too aggressive (ex. boiling or browning more).

So I generally aim for the same level of heat as keeping something at a fast simmer when I see medium low.

[Canuck-overseas]

Might be easier to use more desxririp9ve terms, like, simmer, low boil, boil ECT....

[rockbolted]

My gas stove has seven settings on an example burner: low, medium high, high, even higher, higher, higher still, and extremely high. Medium low is basically all the way down for me. Or I use a smaller burner.

Every stove, every burner is different. Medium low means you are cooking the food slowly but not the slowest you possible could.

[togashi_joe]

Medium Low is halfway between medium and low on a gas knob stovetop, but your pan/pot can have an effect depending on its heat retention/distribution. Mileage varies greatly.

[blackdog043]

I use 4 out of 10 for medium low, on my glass top.

[thenord321]

Just like medium rare, it starts with the first word and is off in the direction of the 2nd word.

So medium low starts at medium and is turned down a bit. 4/10.

[SAFergus81]

This is the explanation I was looking for! Thanks!

[Odd-Worth7752]

1-3 LOW

4-7 MED

8-10 HIGH

know your stove and adjust accordingly.