For some inexplicable reason, the physics behind scalding came into my head and it raised a question, specifically regarding steam scalding. If you put your hand in steam that is just above the boiling point, you will get scalded, but if you put your hand in an oven at 200C, you will suffer no ill effects (providing you don't touch any surface or liquid), because air does not transfer heat well. Since steam is a gas, and with gases, I'd have thought its ability to directly transfer heat to a solid surface would be similarly lacking as for air if there was no condensation (which is unrealistic I know), am I correct in thinking that the primary reason steam scalds the skin is because of condensation and latent heat transfer, and the actual temperature of the steam is a minor effect (at the temperatures we deal with in the kitchen at least)?
The same question applies to cooking food by steaming. Is the primary mechanism the temperature of the steam cooking the food by raising it to near the boiling point of water or it is the steam condensing onto the food and releasing latent heat?
The same question applies to cooking food by steaming. Is the primary mechanism the temperature of the steam cooking the food by raising it to near the boiling point of water or it is the steam condensing onto the food and releasing latent heat?