If you’ve ever wondered where the simmer setting on your stove is, you’re not alone. Simmering is a fundamental cooking technique used for reducing liquids, but it can be difficult to find the exact setting. Fortunately, it’s not too hard to figure out where simmer is on your stove if you know what to look for.
Most stoves have the heat settings labeled from high to low with numbers or symbols representing each one. Simmer typically falls somewhere in the middle of those settings, usually between “3” and “4” depending on your stove model. It may also be labeled as “Low-Medium” or something similar.
If you don’t see any labels indicating where the simmer setting is, try turning the dial halfway between high and low. That should give you an approximate simmer temperature that you can adjust up or down depending on what your recipe calls for. You can also use a thermometer to measure the actual temperature of your cooking liquid and adjust accordingly.
Simmering is great for making soups and sauces that require a longer cook time at lower temperatures than boiling or sautéing would provide. It also helps retain more of the flavors in delicate ingredients like herbs and vegetables since they aren’t exposed to high heat for too long. With this information in mind, finding where simmer is on a stove should be much easier!