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When water reached the boiled point, you say "the waiter boiled." How about food that reaches its cooking point?

Example sentence:

Like __ clams, her eyes snapped open.

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  • is there anything wrong with "cooked"
    – user252684
    Sep 8, 2017 at 2:09
  • cooked probably does not capture the idea of the moment of readiness when they open.
    – Jim
    Sep 8, 2017 at 2:19
  • Possibly, but for the phrase to have meaning one must know a bit about the cooking of clams. Presumably, before that moment they are under cooked and after that they are overcooked, so it seems to do the job. Maybe "perfectly cooked" for the uninitiated , but that's too many words for the OP.
    – user252684
    Sep 8, 2017 at 2:24
  • @PaulDirac - but temporally I can remove the oysters at the exact moment they are done and serve them. Minutes later they are still “perfectly cooked” but they have not just snapped open.
    – Jim
    Sep 8, 2017 at 2:29
  • Like clams at the perfect point of doneness, her eyes snapped open.
    – Jim
    Sep 8, 2017 at 5:20

2 Answers 2

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Your question reminded me of "cookies are done, people are finished," an expression said often by a friend's mother when her daughter would say "she" was "done" doing something ....

"Cooked" seems right but not quite; what about "just-cooked" clams, ....

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  1. "Like clams (fried/cooked) in a pan, her eyes snapped open"

  2. "Like clams cooked to perfection, her eyes opened."

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