German translation help, please
 

We really enjoyed the barley soup while in Switzerland. At the Engelberg Monastery, I purchased this dried soup mix called Bundner Gerstensuppe.

Here's the directions on the back:

"2 Liter Wasser zum Siedepunkt bringen, die Suppenmischung einruhren, aufkochen and auf kleinem Feuer ca. 30 Minuten kocheln lassen."

Does it just mean to bring 2 liters of water to boil and simmer (covered or uncovered?) 30 minutes?

Thanks. My online translator doesn't seem to be working today.

Exactly.

"Bring 2 litres (0.52 gallons) of water to seethe. Stir in the soup mixture, bring it to a boil and let simmer on a small flame for about 30 minutes."

Can it be that there's no English word for "sieden"? Siedepunkt is translated "boiling-point", but it's not correct because sieden is the moment when the "noise" gets louder, before the water actally boils. No bubbles at this point. :-). Funny :-)
No what it says is to heat 2 liters of water to the point when the water "siedet", the stir the soup mixture into the water, wait until it boils, reduce the heat so that there are only small bubbles for another 30min. Doesn't say anything about covered or not.

>seethe Thanks :-)

Many thanks. Care to join me for dinner? ((L))

Siedepunkt is boiling point. Cf. siedendheiss is boiling hot, and sieden is to boil.
So bring 2-litre water to boil, stir in the mixture, bring it back to boil and on reduced flame let it simmer for 30 min.

> and sieden is to boil.
That's the point, "sieden" doesn't mean "to boil". ;-)

sieden (to boil)
Kontext: zum Beispiel Wasser siedet
Definition: Sieden bedeutet, dass eine Flüssigkeit in den gasförmigen Zustand übergeht, indem sie Wärmeenergie aufnimmt. Eine Flüssigkeit siedet, sobald ihre Temperatur den Siedepunkt erreicht hat.
An der Oberfläche verdunstet die Flüssigkeit. In der Flüssigkeit selbst bilden sich Dampfblasen. Wasser zum Beispiel siedet bei 100° C (siehe Wasserdampf).
Viele Lebensmittel wie zum Beispiel Nudeln werden in siedendem Wasser gegart oder man lässt sie darin noch garziehen.

See Alec the description is right, just that the trasnlation to "boil" isn't correct, it's actually not boiling, which would be "kochen" and never "sieden". It's funny you don't seem to grasp the difference. That's why I suspected there was no English word for "sieden".

I think you are splitting hairs.
Kochen and sieden both mean 'to boil'; kochen is in everyday speech and in cookery, sieden is a technical word used in physics.
Boiling point isn't 'Kochpunkt' (such word doesn't exist) but 'Siedepunkt' - that's what I learnt at German secondary school eons ago!

>kochen is in everyday speech and in cookery, sieden is a technical word used in physics
Sorry, wrong..., it's like I explained.
So maybe "seethe" is the word.

I've looked it up in Duden and I'm correct.

That's difficult..., you don't seem to understand... So anybody who speaks English and knows the difference, please what would I have to say in English when I mean
"Das Wasser kocht" and
"Das Wasser siedet"

Would native English speakers know the difference?

How would I translate:
"Das Wasser [mit den Würstchen] muss sieden, darf aber nicht kochen".

It can't be: "The water must boil, but mustn't boil"?
Thanks! :-)

Kopp, for me, sieden is boiling. I didn't study chemistry but I did go to a Bäuerinnenschule for 4 1/2 months in Giswil.

Your translation is correct as long as you realize that once the water boils, you then add the soup mix and simmer for 30 min. I'd leave the lid on to avoid loss of moisture.

I love Bundner Gerstensuppe too. Enjoy!

logos999---I think I see the difference you describe: sieden is when the little bubbles start to form and rise, but don't roil the surface. Kochen is a true boil where larger bubbles rise and break the surface. I believe you are correct---we don't have a word in English for the difference. Or rather, our word "boil" describes the full boil; we don't have a word for the situation just before that. "Simmer" might be close.

Is there a temperature difference between sieden and kochen? Could one be 99,999 C. and the other 100,00 C?

kopp---see what you started? For your Gerstensuppe, it probably doesn't make any difference.

From my (very plain and simple) dictionary: sieden = start boiling, reach the boiling point.

Thanks Enzian, you described the difference between the two german words! So "almost boiling, but not actually boiling" would be an English workaround.

>Is there a temperature difference between sieden and kochen?
i.e. Sausages mustn't "kochen", but "sieden". If they'd be "kochen" their skin would break.

>>"Das Wasser [mit den Würstchen] muss sieden, darf aber nicht kochen"<<

logos, I think in an (American) English cookbook, that would read:

&quot;Bring the water (with the little sausage) <b>just</b> to a boil, but not to a <b>rolling</b> boil.&quot;

I think the word &quot;seethe&quot; gets at the distinction precisely, but it's not a word one would find in a recipe.

kopp, I'd love a bowl of barley soup!