away from you and towards the back of the stove so that the steam that has been trapped inside does not rise up to your face and burn you. Steam is hotter than boiling water :D
Just lift it straight up
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It means take the lid off the top of the cookpot.
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The liquid in the pan gets hot, and creates water vapor. The lid, blanketed by the outside air, is cooler than the liquid in the pan, so the water condenses on the underside of the lid.
A pan doesn't dry out when you put a lid on it because you are creating a closed environment. The lid traps the steam that results from the heat. The steam hits the lid and when it can go through it turns into condensation which puts the liquid back into the pan.
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Hopefully not
There's a latch on the side of the lid, lift up to pull it off.