One thing unclear in the original abstract discussed here was if the microwave cooking was done in
water or if "dry", here is another article which answers:
NY Times
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October 21, 2003
VITAL SIGNS
Nutrition: Cooking Broccoli, Out of the Box
By JOHN O'NEIL
Broccoli is prized as a healthy food in part because it contains high levels of chemicals
believed to protect against heart disease and some kinds of cancer. Now a new study from Spain
suggests that health lovers hoping to get those benefits keep their broccoli away from the
microwave.
The study, published in the November issue of The Journal of the Science of Food and
Agriculture, found that broccoli cooked by microwave lost 74 percent to 97 percent of its
antioxidant compounds, which are believed to be healthful. The researchers, from the
University of Murcia at Espinardo, found by contrast that broccoli cooked by steaming lost
less than 10 percent of the same chemicals.
The study's lead researcher, Dr. Cristina Garcia-Viguera, wrote that nutrients were leached
out of the broccoli into its cooking water during microwaving. Because there is less contact
between water and vegetable during steaming, fewer chemicals are lost, she said.
Marianne Turow, an associate professor of nutrition and food safety at the Culinary Institute
of America, said that she had no reason to doubt the validity of the study, but that she
would not change her regular practices to keep her broccoli or other vegetables out of
microwaves entirely.
She said it was possible to microwave vegetables with less water than the researchers used,
and sometimes frozen vegetables can be microwaved without adding any water. "Unless you like
raw potatoes," she said, "you've got to cook usually, so there will be some loss."
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