Do You Simmer on High or Low? Clear Cooking Guide for Perfect Results

When you simmer, keep the heat low. Simmering means you heat a liquid just below boiling, so bubbles rise up slowly and gently—not like the wild bubbling you get with high heat.

If you crank up the heat, the liquid boils hard. That can burn your food or make it cook unevenly. Nobody wants that mess.

You might think simmering means medium heat, but honestly, it’s usually lower—like a 1 or 2 on your stove dial. That low heat lets flavors come together slowly and helps your dish avoid sticking or overcooking.

Once you get the hang of simmering, your cooking just gets better.

Understanding Simmering Levels

Simmering means you cook food gently in hot liquid. You control the heat so the liquid stays just under boiling.

If you know how to set your stove, you can hit the right simmer for whatever you’re making.

What Simmering Means

When you simmer, the liquid gets hot but doesn’t boil. The temperature usually sits between 185°F and 205°F.

You’ll see small bubbles rising slowly to the top.

Simmering lets you cook food slowly. It’s great for soups, stews, and sauces because flavors blend together and the food stays in one piece.

If you turn the heat up too high, the liquid boils hard and can mess up both texture and flavor.

If it’s too low, the food just won’t cook.

Difference Between Simmering on High and Low

Simmering on low gives you gentle bubbles—people call that a “low simmer.” This keeps food cooking nice and slow.

If you simmer on high, you get more bubbles and more heat. It’s quicker, but it can be rough on delicate ingredients. It’s more like a medium-low than a true boil.

Most of the time, you’ll want to simmer on low for dishes that take a while. If you go higher, you’ve got to watch the pot to avoid boiling. Stove settings aren’t always the same, but low is usually safest for keeping control explained here.

Visual and Temperature Cues for Simmering

Look for tiny bubbles that form and rise slowly. The liquid shouldn’t roar or move around like crazy.

The surface will have a few gentle ripples, not a rolling boil.

Keep the temperature between 185°F and 205°F. If you have a thermometer, that’s the sweet spot details here.

Set your burner to low or medium-low. Watch the pot—if bubbling gets too wild or stops, adjust the heat.

Best Practices for Simmering

Simmering needs you to pay attention to the heat. You’ll want to adjust your stove depending on what you’re cooking and how long it takes.

Learning to pick low, medium, or higher heat helps you keep the liquid just below boiling.

When to Simmer on Low Heat

Go for low heat when you’re cooking delicate foods or dishes that need time to get tender. Low heat softens ingredients without breaking them apart.

Stews, soups, and sauces really benefit from gentle simmering on low. Flavors blend, and even tough meat gets nice and tender.

You might need to keep the pot covered to hold in heat and moisture.

If you see tiny bubbles just now and then, you’re probably at the right heat. When you put the lid on, you’ll need even less heat to keep things simmering.

When to Use Medium or High Heat

Medium heat works when you want to simmer quickly or reduce liquids faster. You’ll see more bubbles, but it still avoids wild boiling.

Use medium heat for stocks or sauces that need to thicken up in less time. Just keep an eye out so it doesn’t boil over or scorch.

Save high heat for bringing liquids to a boil. Sometimes, you’ll start on high to get things boiling, then turn it down to simmer.

If you try to simmer on high, you’ll probably overcook or lose too much liquid. That’s just not worth the risk.

Common Simmering Mistakes

A lot of people crank the heat up way too high, and suddenly their gentle simmer turns into a rolling boil. That usually messes up delicate ingredients and can totally wreck the texture.

Some folks forget that the type of pot matters. If you’re using a thinner pan, it loses heat faster, so you might actually need to turn up the heat a bit to keep things simmering.

Leaving the pot uncovered when it should really be covered? That just leads to more evaporation and makes the temperature bounce around. Simmering gets pretty unstable that way.

And let’s be honest, not stirring enough is a classic mistake. If you don’t stir now and then, you’ll probably end up with hot spots or even some burning at the bottom. Just give it a gentle stir to keep the flavors even and stop things from sticking.

If you’re curious for more, check out How To Simmer Properly on Reddit and some tips from The Kitchn.