system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why do many recipes say to boil things uncovered?

Covering the pot traps the heat and allows you to boil or summer with less power. So why do recipes so frequently call to boil with the lid off?

(example: pasta)
gpt
In the case of pasta specifically, the starch in the pasta tends to cause the water to boil over quite easily, which makes a big mess - so by keeping the lid off, you make it easier to see if the pot is close to boiling over.

A lot of dishes need the lid off because you're simmering them to get water out - anything that talks about "reducing," or "simmer until thick" is removing excess water by letting it evaporate. So if you had the lid on, you'd constantly be capturing the excess water.