Steaming vs. Boiling Vegetables

In article
<[email hidden]>,

qquito said:

Dear All:

Many sources now say that steaming vegetables is better than boiling,
because more nutrients are retained in steamed vegetables.

In the early days of the human race, before the atomic bomb and through
man walking on the moon, American people boiled vegetables until the
boiling liquid was the same color as the vegetables themselves. It's
true! During that dark period of existence, the water certainly
contained as much of the vegetable nutrient as the vegetable itself. It
was also the same consistency. I believe times have changed.

Quoted message said:

On the other hand, the water below the steamer changes color
apparently because some nutrients separate out from the vegetables
being steamed and find their way in the water, and the water then goes
down the drain.

Yep, for both methods.

Quoted message said:

Despite these puzzling questions, I recently started steaming.

I generally steam vegetables too, unless I want their flavor in a
finished dish that includes the water. I'm not particularly inclined to
buy the vitamin argument with quickly steamed or quickly boiled
vegetables.

leo

"qquito" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dear All:

Many sources now say that steaming vegetables is better than boiling,
because more nutrients are retained in steamed vegetables.

When I ask friends for the reason, the answer is invariably that
boiling water washes away the nutrients when you boil them.

Is that all? Are there more reasons than that?

What if you boil them without cutting them (in other words, boil WHOLE
green leaves, WHOLE carrots, WHOLE potatoes, etc.)?

And what if you boil vegetables and drink the water afterwards in
addition to eating the boiled vegetables? You don't need much water in
the pot especially if you boil leafy vegetables. The upper part of the
vegetables in the pot is like being steamed and only the lower part is
in contact with the boiling water. When it is done, very little water
is left at the bottom, and you don't quite need to drain the
vegetables, and the water can be mixed with the vegetables and be
"eaten" along with the latter. In this case, do you still lose
nutrients?

On the other hand, the water below the steamer changes color
apparently because some nutrients separate out from the vegetables
being steamed and find their way in the water, and the water then goes
down the drain.

Despite these puzzling questions, I recently started steaming.

Thank you for reading and replying!

--Roland

What do you gain from steaming rather than cooking vegetables in the
microwave in a small tightly covered container with a small amt. of H2O?

Kent

"qquito" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dear All:

Many sources now say that steaming vegetables is better than boiling,
because more nutrients are retained in steamed vegetables.

When I ask friends for the reason, the answer is invariably that
boiling water washes away the nutrients when you boil them.

Is that all? Are there more reasons than that?

What if you boil them without cutting them (in other words, boil WHOLE
green leaves, WHOLE carrots, WHOLE potatoes, etc.)?

And what if you boil vegetables and drink the water afterwards in
addition to eating the boiled vegetables? You don't need much water in
the pot especially if you boil leafy vegetables. The upper part of the
vegetables in the pot is like being steamed and only the lower part is
in contact with the boiling water. When it is done, very little water
is left at the bottom, and you don't quite need to drain the
vegetables, and the water can be mixed with the vegetables and be
"eaten" along with the latter. In this case, do you still lose
nutrients?

On the other hand, the water below the steamer changes color
apparently because some nutrients separate out from the vegetables
being steamed and find their way in the water, and the water then goes
down the drain.

Despite these puzzling questions, I recently started steaming.

Thank you for reading and replying!

I prefer to eat most of my vegetables raw. Not potatoes though. Yuck!
Although my mom and daughter like them raw. You didn't mention roasting.
If I'm going to cook my veggies, I most often roast them. If I make mashed
potatoes, I do use some of that water to mash them with. I know, not the
norm, but we can't have dairy. So I use that water mixed with a broth
concentrate to match whatever meat or veg we are having.

If I steam anything, it's usually for my husband. He likes cooked broccoli
and asparagus. I don't! I simply sprinkle on a little water and seasonings
and nuke them using a covered casserole. That's how I steam them. I found
the steamer basket to be a pain in the butt.

I also sometimes eat canned vegetables. Not the best I know. I reserve
their use for times when I'm in a super hurry or when I'm snowed in and
can't get fresh stuff, or the power is off and I can't cook or something
like that. I actually use far less canned vegetables than I used to. But
if I do eat them, I don't worry about any lack of nutrients because I don't
eat them often.

qquito said:

Dear All:

Many sources now say that steaming vegetables is better than boiling,
because more nutrients are retained in steamed vegetables.

You may lose some nutrients when boiling vegetables but not a
significant amount. How long the vegetables are boiled is a more
important factor. The trick is to cook the vegetables enough to make
them palateable but not so much as to make them colorless sludge.

Here's the way I "boil" vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and kale
without bothering with the steamer:

Bring the water in a pot to a boil.
Add the chopped vegetables
Poke them down in the water so they're covered.
Put the lid on the pot.
Turn the heat off! Do not regain a boil. I move the pot to a cold
burner on the stove.
Time for exactly 5 minutes.
Now pour off the water and serve the vegetables.

They come out cooked but not overcooked, a tad crunchy but not raw.

If you're happy with using your steamer, go for it, but you're not
making a huge difference in nutrients. The important thing is to
prepare the vegetables in a way that YOU like them so you keep eating
them and eat more of them. If you like them raw, eat them raw. If you
like them a little softer, then cook them a little longer. That's
better than telling yourself that you have to eat them raw, not liking
them, and then stop eating them.

Me, I can't stand plain steamed vegetables so I make them more
nutritious by adding butter or salad dressing. The fat and calorie
content go up, but in my diet, broccoli with butter is better than no
broccoli at all, and broccoli without butter is something I'm not going
to stick with for long.

Boiling them whole without chopping only means it will take longer for
them to cook thoroughly. It doesn't make any difference to nutritional
content.

Making use of the cooking water is a great idea flavorwise. You can use
the water in soups or use it for moisture in the sauce. It doesn't make
a huge difference as far as vitamins and nutrition.

If you're really worried about vitamins leaching out of vegetables, take
a daily vitamin. Unless you have a specific health condition that
requires a doctor's care and advice, just make sure you get plenty of
vegetables in general without worrying about cooking them a specific
way, and you'll be fine.

--Lia

Kent said:

"qquito" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dear All:

Quoted message said:

Many sources now say that steaming vegetables is better than boiling,
because more nutrients are retained in steamed vegetables.

Quoted message said:

When I ask friends for the reason, the answer is invariably that
boiling water washes away the nutrients when you boil them.

Quoted message said:

Is that all? Are there more reasons than that?

Quoted message said:

What if you boil them without cutting them (in other words, boil WHOLE
green leaves, WHOLE carrots, WHOLE potatoes, etc.)?

Quoted message said:

And what if you boil vegetables and drink the water afterwards in
addition to eating the boiled vegetables? You don't need much water in
the pot especially if you boil leafy vegetables. The upper part of the
vegetables in the pot is like being steamed and only the lower part is
in contact with the boiling water. When it is done, very little water
is left at the bottom, and you don't quite need to drain the
vegetables, and the water can be mixed with the vegetables and be
"eaten" along with the latter. In this case, do you still lose
nutrients?

Quoted message said:

On the other hand, the water below the steamer changes color
apparently because some nutrients separate out from the vegetables
being steamed and find their way in the water, and the water then goes
down the drain.

Quoted message said:

Despite these puzzling questions, I recently started steaming.

What do you gain from steaming rather than cooking vegetables in
the microwave in a small �tightly covered container with a small amt. > of H2O?

Um, steaming IS cooking, and veggies can be steamed in a microwave
oven just as easily as on a stove top, in fact most often vegetables
are indeed steamed in a microwave, no one boils veggies in a large
quanty of water in a microwave, even frozen veggies say to add only a
Tbls or two. Regardless which method, steaming on stove top or in the
nuker the water is only to prevent burning. The tight lid is only to
prevent loss of water, minerals do not evaporate, nor do vitamins to
any great degree, vitamin loss is mainly from destruction due to
heat.... and of course overcooking by any method destroys texture ergo
fiber... fiber is one of the main reasons to eat veggies, otherwise
just take a multivitamin with a glass of metamusil

All things equal (what you do with the remaining liquid) there is no
difference in nutrition loss between steaming and boiling... if one is
truly concerned with retaining as much nutrition as possible besides
eating raw stir frying is best.

And "steaming" is a misnomer, just a bastardization of a term that
evolved culinarily because the vast majority of people who cook for a
living (professionally) are uneducated, but scientifically it is hot
water vapor (not steam) that does the cooking, no difference from
boiling.

Sheldon

Julie Bove said:

Quoted message said:

I prefer to eat most of my vegetables raw. �Not potatoes though. �Yuck!

If you peel potatoes it matters not how you cook/eat them, most of the
vitamins and minerals are contained in the skin.

Quoted message said:

Although my mom and daughter like them raw. �You didn't mention roasting.
If I'm going to cook my veggies, I most often roast them. �

Roasting concentrates flavor by dehydration but the higher
temperatures for longer times destroys much of the vitamin content...
nutritionally roasting is by far the very worst way to cook veggies.

If I make mashed

Quoted message said:

potatoes, I do use some of that water to mash them with. �

Who cares, if you threw the skins in the trash you're just eating
starch. If you peel your spuds, boil them, and beat them with a mixer
then you may as well prepare dehys... in fact dehys are much more
nutritious than mashed spuds prepared as you and most do.

Try boiling thin skinned (new potatoes) in their skins and smashing
them minimally them with a hand masher... much more nutritious and
tastier. But I know most of yoose prefer your method because they
prefer to eat library paste diluted with lots of milk and butter.

Quoted message said:

I also sometimes eat canned vegetables. �Not the best I know. �I reserve
their use for times when I'm in a super hurry or when I'm snowed in and
can't get fresh stuff, or the power is off and I can't cook or something
like that. �I actually use far less canned vegetables than I used to. �But
if I do eat them, I don't worry about any lack of nutrients because I don't
eat them often.

Canned veggies retain more nutrients than boiled or steamed, but if
you toss the liquid down the drain you may as well eat the can.

Sheldon