simmer
v.v. to cook food in liquid that is almost boiling but not quite. You use this when you want to cook something slowly and gently.
v. to cook a liquid or food in liquid at a temperature just below the boiling point, typically characterized by the occasional formation of small bubbles. Often used figuratively to describe a state of suppressed anger or excitement.
Let the soup simmer for twenty minutes.
After bringing the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer until the liquid thickens.
The chef instructed his apprentices to let the stock simmer overnight, ensuring that the gentle heat would extract maximum flavor without clouding the liquid.
From alteration of dialectal simper, from Middle English simperen (“to simmer”), of possibly imitative origin. First attested in the intransitive sense. The noun is from the verb. First attested in the late 15ᵗʰ century.
From sim (“simulation”, noun) + -er.
The verb can be used both transitively ('simmer the sauce') and intransitively ('the sauce simmers').
simmer the water to a boilbring the water to a boilSimmering refers to a temperature lower than boiling; you cannot simmer something 'to' a boil.